The Mirror
by Caroline L'Amoure
Summary: Althea is a normal college girl from Michigan, transported to the strange world of Sanrou by a silver mirror. In this strange new world she meets Toran, a tiger 'humanus' anthro and is trapped in a war fought between the two races. Will she ever get home
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1- The Discovery

Sitting in a cozy beanbag chair, Althea was thinking about her weekend. She was off from college for about a week for spring vacation, and in Michigan the week was blessedly warm. Having brown hair and light blue eyes, she was often seen as plain looking by all but her friends. She had a fun-loving personality, but deep down she knew that she was always sad and had a very low confidence. She looked back down at the drawing she had been working on and sighed when she saw mistakes she had made, but it was too late to fix them. Others thought her drawing skills were good, but she thought they were mediocre at best, but as the old saying goes, the artist is often the worst critic. Not wanting to sit around all weekend, she stood up and packed a backpack full of various things to bring with her as she thought of which of her old friend's houses to visit. She had lived in this area her entire life, so all of her friends were people she had known for at least 12 years, if not more. At the age of 19, she was a sophomore in college, and hadn't seen anyone from high school for over 3 months. She wondered how everyone was doing as she walked down the steps from the upstairs bedroom to the living room, picking up her iPod from the table and clipping it to the pocket of her jeans. After telling her mother where she would be going, she got onto her bike and pedaled down the neighborhood. Spring was always the most cheerful of months in Michigan, after the deep freeze of winter plants started to come back to life and animals woke from a long hibernation. Birds celebrated the new beginnings in loud songs that echoed through the state and only increased the happiness of the residents. She looked down the road at the construction sites lining the opposite side of the road and scoffed at the ugly piles of dirt that took away the beauty of the surrounding area. The business districts of the area were growing, and with it the cost of land. Neighborhoods were being overtaken by businesses and traffic as construction sites grew in number around her family's house. Althea shook her head in dismay, but knew she was powerless to stop growth. After passing the intimidating heavy machinery that sat asleep beside the already raised metal bars, she finally reached Stephanie's house after only a few minutes of riding. She parked her bike and walked up to the porch to see Stephanie open the door with a bright smile.

"Althea! Oh my god, it's so good to see you!" She motioned Althea to come in, who laughed at Stephanie's enthusiasm. She walked through the house with a bright smile; Stephanie leading her into what she knew was the kitchen. She looked around her at the rich browns and tans of the décor and walked up a small set of stairs to see a man sitting in the kitchen already. It wasn't Stephanie's father though; it was a much younger man she didn't recognize. He wasn't as young as Stephanie, but was probably a few years older than her. Althea looked at Stephanie with a raised eyebrow in question. Stephanie giggled innocently and walked over to the man, hugging him around the neck happily.

"This is Alec, my boyfriend. He's an electrician I met at work." She said, ruffling his hair. He made a sound of protest and smoothed down his jet black hair, standing to greet Althea with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Steph's told me all about you." He said, shaking Althea's hand politely. She looked at him skeptically, wondering how old he actually was. He seemed as if he were in his upper 20's, far too old for Stephanie's 18. She'd have to watch out for Stephanie with this guy.

They broke the handshake, and Althea looked nervously around the room, not really knowing what to do. She had been without a boyfriend for about half a year now, and was still healing a broken heart. He had used her and dumped her in the usual shallow way, wanting only a girlfriend to say she was 'his girl' until he found another victim. She had been crushed, thinking he had actually been sincere in his many 'I love you' and 'you're so pretty'. But it had all been an illusion, and she had fallen for it.

Building a mental wall so that her emotions wouldn't seep into her outward appearance, Althea looked again at Alec and braced herself for the horrible green envy that uncontrollably filled her. Stephanie had rarely had a boyfriend their entire time growing up, and now she had a very handsome older guy who could take care of her very well.

Stephanie saw Althea building her mental walls and knew what it meant. After nearly 5 years of being best friends, they could read each other's body language almost perfectly.

"Anyway… Did you need anything, Althea?" Stephanie said, trying to change the conversation so Althea would be more comfortable.

"Yeah, I came to give you back your book you let me borrow, it was really good, and thanks for letting me borrow it." Althea said quietly, reaching into her backpack and bringing out one of the two books she had brought with her.

"No problem." Stephanie said, taking the book and watching as Althea leaned down to zip back up her bag. "I'll call you tonight, alright?" She said, wanting to talk to Althea about what was wrong, but not wanting to say it in front of Alec.

Althea understood and nodded, hoisting her backpack back over her shoulder, saying goodbye to both Stephanie and Alec and walked back out of the house, her mind buzzing with sad memories. Oh, how she wished those memories would go away!

She walked down the road and into one of the construction sites. She always liked to go through the upturned soil throughout these sites and find interesting objects like shiny rocks and antiques. She looked in the direction of a particularly shining object and gasped in surprise when she realized it looked like silver! She walked over to the strange object and dusted the thin layer of dirt from on top of it, revealing a strange silver carving. It looked as if it were ancient, the silver tarnished and the carvings worn away. She examined the carvings themselves and found that it was the recreation of a battle. Two sites faced each other with bared weapons, One side human being led by a woman, and the other a strange type of being that looked to be a mix of human and all sorts of different animals, leg by a human-tiger creature, baring a long sword. She turned the carvings in her hand, seeing that the strange creatures had human-like faces, except for their nostrils were that of an animal's and the ears on the sides of their head were that of an animal as well. Their feet were actually large paws, and it looked as if they all stood on their toes, although Althea knew that this was normal for an animal anatomy. She flipped the mirror over, wiping the dust away from the shining surface of the glass. The surface swirled with smoke as she looked at her own image, which appeared, was clouded by smoke, then reappeared again. Her head pounded as if something was pushing on her temples, and her eyesight blurred into swirls of darkness and random colors, making her close her eyes in pain. Her hair whipped around her face as wind blew around her, and all faded into darkness…


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2- The Meeting

"Hey- are you alright?" a deep male voice said through the haze of Althea's clouded senses. She opened her eyes slowly, only to see a strange creature looking at her inches from her face. She glanced over his strange cat-like features, and the small coating of soft orange and black striped fur, making her realize this must be a tiger of some sort- but with a human-like face. She stood perfectly still for a moment as the strange being watched her with bright green eyes, the cat ears sprouting from his brown hair raised in curiosity.

Althea let out a long scream of surprise, hoping the thing would leave her alone from such a noise, but he only flinched and covered his ears, glaring at her.

"What the hell is your problem?" He yelled, rubbing his ears to make them stop ringing. "You were unconscious when I found you, so I just wanted to make sure you're alright! Gods, my ears!" He growled, finally taking his hands away from his head, but his ears were now lowered in annoyance.

'What is he- a cat? Or a human of some sort?' Althea thought to herself as she looked at his very human-like features and attitude. "What are you?" She asked softly, trying to make sense of things.

"What do you mean 'what am I'? I'm a humanus- duh." He said, rolling his eyes with a smirk. Althea looked him over, seeing his upper body was very human-like, but instead of feet he had two large paws and a long tail that was slashing the air behind him as he waited for her reaction. Did he say he was human?

"You are so not human." Althea said warily, noticing his green eyes flash in anger.

"Not human, humanus!" The creature hissed, its ears lowering again in anger. "Filthy stinking creatures, those humans." He mumbled, looking away from her as he said it.

"Hey- what have you got against humans?" Althea said defensively. She had never heard someone insult the entire human race before, and it struck a bad cord in her.

"Let's see, maybe because they're trying to kill my entire race?" The cat-like creature hissed, his fangs flashing as he bared his teeth.

"What?" Althea gasped in shock, hoping that he wasn't thinking she would want to try and kill anyone.

The creature sighed, and closed his eyes in frustration.

"The humans and humanus have been at war for nearly 50 years now. Before the war started, humans and humanus lived side by side peacefully. We even fought together in battles against enemies, and traded goods to each other. There were even people that went so far as to fall in love and have children between the races, making a sub-race called the 'furso'. Unfortunately, once the war started, they were the first to be killed. It all started when for some reason the queen began thinking of us as 'monsters', more instinctive than intelligent. Soon the opinion started to spread throughout the kingdoms, and people thought that they should be the first to act against us, lest we try and kill them on sight. My uncle was one of the first humanus to be killed by humans that thought of us as 'rabid beasts', and we've been fighting ever since."

"That's terrible." Althea said, looking up at the tiger-being as he looked at the ground uneasily.

"Yes, well…" he looked back up at her, and looked her up and down, his ears raising again in curiosity. "Where are you from anyway? You have strange clothes."

"I'm from Michigan. It's only a t-shirt and jeans." she said, looking down at her outfit.

"Mi-shee-gin? Is that some rural human town or something? I've never heard of it."

"Sort of." Althea smirked, knowing that Michigan was one of the more rural states in America. "Where am I, anyway?"

Ah, you're in the Tora kingdom of Sanrou." The creature smiled.

Althea looked around her in shock. Another world? No streets or sidewalks? No cars or schools? "NO SHOPPING MALLS?" she yelled in shock, and looked at the ground for the mirror to get back to her own world, but found it shattered on the ground. She was stuck in this world now, never to return.

"Wow, you're pretty excitable, aren't you?" The creature smirked wryly, but turned uneasy when she started to look depressed, a small sniff sounding from her. "Uh- hey, don't cry." he said anxiously. Althea thought of how her family and friends would think she was dead if she didn't get back soon. Everyone would forget about her and move on, like she had never existed. She sobbed softly, making the being step back in frustration.

"Oh great. Nice, Toran. You made her cry." He muttered to himself as he wondered how he could calm her down. He hated seeing females cry, no matter if they were human or humanus. He frantically looked around, trying to get her to stop crying, and realizing that he didn't even know her name. He looked down at the mirror on the ground, remembering that she had started crying when she saw it.

"You know, this can be fixed." He said, looking at the shattered glass. "The panel can be replaced."

"No, you don't get it." Althea sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I picked up that mirror and wound up here somehow. Now that it's broken I can't go back home."

"You traveled through this thing?" Toran looked at her in shock, trying to figure out how she would fit through such a small space. He thought for a minute, before remembering a story from his childhood.

"I think I've heard of something like this before." Toran said, trying to remember how the story went.

"Oh yeah- my father told me when I was very young. A human man traveled through a mirror from another world, and had to try and find a way back home. I don't remember all the details though… We could always go to the library and check, I was on my way there anyway."

"Really?" Althea said hopefully, wiping the rest of her tears from her eyes. She was so glad she had found someone helpful. It sounded like this world was pretty dangerous.

"Sure, why not? My name's Toran by the way." he said, smiling down at her. She was a lot shorter than him, probably a good three feet. Then again, he was pretty tall, even for a humanus.

"I'm Althea. Hey- can I ask why you were traveling to the library anyway? Are you going to get a book?"

"Oh, no. I'm gathering as many humanus as I can to make an army to fight the humans. The battle's getting pretty bad, and more humanus are dying than humans at this point." He said, looking at her sadly before perking up his ears. "Alright then, to the library!" He said, trying to change the subject. He looked around uneasily, wondering which way the library actually was… "North, then." He said, starting to walk in the direction he had pointed. Althea watched him walk off, biting her lip nervously as she wondered if he knew the right way or not.

"Come on!" He called behind his shoulder, and she ran to catch up with Toran.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3- Forboding

Meanwhile…

In a dark room of a castle, two pillars of strangely red flames burned on either side of a silver throne. Sitting in the throne was a tall woman, her face shadowed as she looked down at the two younger people kneeling before her.

"I have gathered you two here for a purpose." The queen said, her voice hinting at an edge of anger.

"Yes, your majesty?" The two younger humans said in unison, their identical brown hair and blue eyes looking up at the queen apprehensively.

"Rain, Sei, rumor has told that the Humanus prince has left the safety of his castle."

"What a fool." The man, Sei, laughed, shaking his head in amazement of the humanus' stupidity.

"Indeed." Rain agreed, a sly smile creeping across her face. "Would you like us to kill him, your majesty?" She said in offering, and bowed her head politely.

"Yes, kill him before he gathers others to him and creates a formidable force. The humanus must not be underestimated."

The twins nodded and stood up, walking backwards out of the room, as was the custom of avoiding dishonor by showing their backs to the queen. When they finally reached the door, they turned around and began walking down the paved pathway into the city.

"Finally sister, a mission for us to focus on." Sei said happily, running a hand thoughtfully on the tattoo on the side of his face, a series of triangles bordered by a straight line on either side of the row, crossing his eye to his brow and to his chin. It was a testament of the training he had undergone in order to be a warrior of the kingdom.

"Yes, my brother, but one humanus will not be much of a battle. Let's wait and strike when the time is right." Rain said, the long tails of her red bandanna trailing behind her as she took her halberd from her back and settled it more comfortably against her shoulders. Sei smiled in agreement and they walked into the city, heading west toward what was left of the humanus kingdoms.

Toran looked around in confusion, seeing nothing but green rolling hills in all directions. Had he taken the wrong way?

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Althea said skeptically.

"Of course I do." Toran said, his voice sounding defensive even to his own ears. He looked away from Althea to hide his uneasy expression, hoping that he would be able to get a map at the library as well, so he could find out whether or not he was heading in the right direction. He started walking toward the east, hoping it was the direction that the last standing humanus library was in.

Two hours of walking later, Toran grinned in satisfaction when he saw the tall towers of the library in the distance. "Yes, the library!" he cheered in triumph, and opened the large oak door into the large brick building housing row upon row of shelves, each filled with books. He started at the beginning of the alphabet to try and find the story of the last traveler through the mirror, running his clawed finger along the titles as he searched.

"Must be around the corner." He muttered to himself when he found no traces of it in that shelf. He rounded the corner and stopped in his tracks at the sight of a large pile of an amazing variety of weapons in front of him.

"I wonder who these belong to? They must be a great warrior." Toran said quietly, looking down at the weapons with an expression of shock

"Those would be mine, 'stranger'." A light voice said from behind him, making Toran twirl around in alarm, but smile when he saw the black panther humanus smiling up at him. They braced forearms in a friendly greeting.

"Xicro, long time no see." Toran said, looking down at the face of his shorter, childhood friend.

"Likewise, Toran. You've grown too much." Xicro laughed, making Toran's grin widen.

"So, what have you been up to?" Toran said, releasing Xicro's grip as Althea looked on in confusion.

Xicro shrugged, his smile innocent. "Oh you know, fighting for my life… the usual." He chuckled.

Althea sighed, not able to stand the confusion any longer. She looked at Toran with an annoyance. "Mind telling me who this is?" She said, and Xicro looked over at her, as if noticing her for the first time, his expression turning to one of shocked nervousness.

"Toran, what's with the human? Should I be alarmed?" Xicro said, his ears flipped back apprehensively as he looked at Althea.

"Eh… no. No reason to be alarmed, she's sort of the reason I came here. Have you heard of the legend of a human coming from a mirror?" Toran said, looking embarrassed.

"Of course I have, I'm a librarian." Xicro rolled his eyes.

"Yeah… She's like that, only for real." Toran said, pointing toward Althea.

"Really?" Xicro's ears perked up in curiosity, and he walked over to Althea, poking her gently on the cheek. "Yep, she's real." He said, a bright grin covering his face to show he was joking.

"What a relief." Althea said sarcastically, but couldn't help but smile as well.

Xicro sighed, his expression turning serious. "Let me guess, you want to try and find a way back to her world?"

"Yep." Toran nodded.

"That may be difficult." Xicro walked over to a shelf and looked at the letters on the label before walking over three rows and bringing a book back, reading it as he walked. He stopped in front of Toran, looking up at him and Althea. "According to the story, the guy who came through the mirror never went back home. He stayed in Sanrou, and…" He looked down at the book in shock. "Well this can't be right." Xicro looked up uneasily to Toran before continuing to read. "It says here he married the human queen and started the war against the humanus." Xicro let out a low hiss of anger and closed the book. "Apparently he thought that since we weren't God-made, we're abominations of nature."

"Great, well unfortunately, that explains a lot." Toran sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Wait… what do you mean 'not God-made?" Althea looked at Xicro in confusion.

"Humanus were made by humans." Xicro said simply with a shrug.

"What?!" Althea said in shock, looking to Toran, who nodded in agreement.

"Wizards wanted to make their pets and familiars more intelligent to help them in their studies and help make them not so lonely, but they made us a little too intelligent." Xicro continued.

"We rose up against them, and made our own kingdoms. Who wants to be a pet of some old guy in a tower?" Toran said, his grin revealing the large fangs in his teeth.

Althea still looked at them in shock, and Xicro smiled softly, chuckling. "I'll explain some more for you. There are two kingdoms, the Okami kingdom, whose prince is the white wolf Jan, and the Tora kingdom." Xicro grinned slyly and pointed to Toran. "Who's prince is Toran, here."

Toran froze and looked at Althea uneasily as she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Wait- Toran's a prince?" she said in amazement.

"Did you have to tell her?" Toran growled to Xicro, who only laughed.

"Yes." He said happily. Toran shook his head and was glad his fur hid the blush he could feel running over his cheeks as Althea leaned closer to him.

"So you really are a prince?" she said, blinking in surprise.

"Yes, even though there's not much to be a prince of, lately." Toran sighed, and perked his ears up as he remembered why he had wanted to see Xicro. "Speaking of which- It's time to take your whip out, Xicro. We're going to battle soon and I need you to come along with me, my friend." Toran said, his voice grim.

"Ooh, I get to kick some bad guy butt?" Xicro said eagerly, and dashed toward the back room between two shelves of books.

"He's a little too happy to have the chance to hurt someone." Althea said uneasily, watching as Xicro came back out of the room with a long chain of metal rods looped around his shoulder.

"That's what makes him such a good warrior. He loves the heat of battle." Toran said, and nodded in satisfaction at the sight of Xicro's infamous metal whip.

"Alright then, I suppose I'll leave Jaque in charge of the library. He'll do fine." Xicro said, and looked down to Althea. "I'm sorry I misjudged you earlier. After being around humans that want to kill me for so long, I forgot that not all of them are so hostile." Xicro said, his yellow eyes bright as he looked down at her, pushing a wild lock of black hair from in front of his eyes.

"No problem." Althea said happily, and patted Xicro reassuringly on the shoulder. Xicro smiled in relief and walked with Toran out the door of the library, winding the whip around his shoulders and waist to free up his arms as he walked.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Makeover

"So, you're planning a bit of an uprising, huh Toran?" Xicro said as he walked next to Toran and Althea on the way to the feline city of Carthuse.

"Yes, my father is ill." Toran said softly, and the news stopped Xicro in his tracks.

"The king… is sick?" Xicro gasped in horror, looking to Toran with wide eyes.

"Yes, but I have not told anyone else. The only thing that will come of the news is more death and sorrow. The Tora kingdom is just acting as if everything is normal."

Althea heard the regal tone in his voice and glanced at him, her mind still not able to face the fact that Toran was actually royalty. She marveled at the strength and determination radiating from him, and wondered how she ever thought he could be anything but a prince.

"What?" Toran asked, noticing her stare. Althea blushed and looked down.

"I suppose I want to help you guys." She said, looking up to see Xicro smiling at her.

"Alright, but it's dangerous. We'll be in battles, people will die in front of you. You might even get really hurt." Toran said, looking down at Althea in pleasant surprise.

"I know, but this whole war is a load of shit. No one has the right to decide who lives and who dies."

Xicro ruffled her hair , "Well aren't you a little tabby cat?" he chuckled. "You can't walk around in those strange clothes though."

"I don't have any money, do you?" Toran looked over at Xicro.

"No, but I know someone who can help." The black panther smirked, his fangs flashing.

"This is it." Xicro stopped Toran and Althea in front of a large house.

"You're kidding… right? The lynx family? They're all insane." Toran said, looking up at the house warily.

"You'll see. Radica and I go way back." Xicro said, knocking on the door. A lynx humanus answered, her large tufted ears flipping back when she noticed Althea. She glanced at Xicro and smiled brightly.

"Xicro, how nice to see you!" She said happily, hugging him tightly.

"Nice to see you too." Xicro gasped as the air was squeezed out of him, and watched with amusement as Radica spotted Toran behind him.

"Oh!" She said, letting go of Xicro and curtsying to the prince.

"Please- don't do that. I can't stand bowing and curtsying." Toran said, looking uneasy.

"Sorry, you're majes-"

"Call me Toran."

"Alright." Radica smiled, and looked at Althea. "So who's this, Xicro?"

"This is Althea. She needs your help. Don't worry, she's good." Xicro said, putting a hand on Althea's shoulder.

Radica looked at her for a minute and nodded. "Alright then, come on in." She said, and motioned them to file into the house.

Once inside, Althea looked around at the silver and purple decorated room with wide eyes. "This place is great!" She said.

Radica looked at her in surprise and smiled sweetly. "Why thank you, dear. We must both have good taste." She chuckled. "So what did you boys want?" Radica looked at Toran and Xicro, who had both sat on a large cushioned couch.

"Althea needs a makeover. I thought you might want the opportunity to work on a human for a change." Xicro said, flinching when Radica let out a loud squeal of excitement and turned back around to Althea to examine her.

"You want a makeover? Oh we have so much work to do- up the stairs- go go go, these guys will be fine on their own." Radica said, pushing a very confused Althea up the stairs.

Toran looked at Xicro warily. "You sure it's ok to leave her alone with Radica?"

"Of course. Radica may seem hyper, but she's a good girl. I should know, I almost married her." Xicro said, watching the two scamper up the stairs in amusement.

Toran looked at Xicro in shock. "Serious? Why didn't you?"

Xicro's smile vanished and he looked to Toran with a nervous expression. "I'd rather not say yet. I'll tell you later, when you're more prepared to hear it."

Toran shook his head in confusion and slumped in the couch, trying to figure out what he had meant by that.

"I… I don't know. Are you sure they won't laugh at me?" Althea said nervously, sneaking a peek at Toran and Xicro, who were chatting downstairs.

"of course they won't dear. If they do, I'll rip their throats out." Radica snickered. Althea looked up at her in surprise, because she had sounded so serious when saying the threat. Radica only laughed and walked down the stairs. "Come on, dear. You can't hide up there forever."

"She's done?" Xicro looked up curiously, leaning forward to try and sneak a peak of her before she came down the stairs.

"Yep, she's all ready." Radica said, and went up the stairs to pull her down. Althea stumbled after her, then stood at the bottom of the stairs, clearing her throat uneasily.

She had her hair down, which flowed to the middle of her back in long waves. Her bright blue eyes were wide as she looked around, and her cheeks were pink from a blush of embarrassment. She wore a long blue and white dress with a blue tie at the waist.

"Very nice." Xicro said, standing up and walking over to Althea. He turned her in a circle and nodded in satisfaction. "You've done it again, Radica, I knew you could."

"Oh you're as sweet as always, Xicro." Radica said, her fur fluffing a bit in happiness. Toran looked up at Althea, his eyes wide. She looked beautiful- for a human, anyway. "You look good." He said, clearing his throat and looking away again.

"She looks better than good." Radica pouted, but sighed and rolled her eyes when Toran only shrugged. "So where are you boys heading to, anyway? Anywhere in particular?"

"After we make a little side stop for provisions we're heading for a meeting with Umou."

"Oh, you didn't tell me that." Xicro said, his eyebrow raised in interest. "Umou's the general of the avian division, isn't he?"

"yeah, he's been scouting the front lines of the human army lately. I'd like to see what size their force is, so that I can recruit as many or more than I need." Toran said, leaning his head back and sighing from the stress of leading an army in the war.

"Oh you're recruiting, are you? I'll come with you." Radica said, biting her lip in excitement. Toran looked up at her in annoyance.

"You can fight?" he asked doubtfully.

Radica scoffed and made a two quick movements with her arm, throwing needle-like blades into the wooden frame behind Toran, who was now pinned to the couch. Toran looked down in shock at the blades and tried to sit up, but stopped so he wouldn't rip his shirt any further.

"Does that satisfy his majesty?" Radica sneered sarcastically. Xicro was overtaken with laughter as Toran tried to find a way to get up without tearing his shirt. He finally managed to twist his arm enough to pull the blade out of the wood behind him, looking at the small slim weapon in interest.

"Very good. You'd be willing to come with us?" Toran looked up at Radica with a newfound respect.

"Of course. Anywhere Xicro goes I'll follow." Radica said with a purr, winking to Xicro.

"I believe you have a kitten following you, Xicro." Toran laughed as Xicro sighed. He looked to Radica with a warm smile, and shook his head with a chuckle. "Alright, I hope we haven't kept the general waiting for too long. I'd think he would be a very… short tempered eagle."

Toran laughed "you've never met him, have you?"

"No, why?" Xicro said curiously.

"He's a Haast Eagle. Short temper is the least of your worries with him."

"What's a Haast Eagle?" Althea walked over to Toran, sitting on the couch next to him.

"Umou is the last Haast Eagle- they're the largest bird humanus in the world. I'd say Umou's about… ten feet high, or so. I haven't seen him in a while though, so he may be taller." Toran shrugged.

Althea's eyes widened in shock. "Ten FEET? That's huge!"

"Yes, it is. He's a very good formidable enemy. The best general in the country."

"We shouldn't keep him waiting, then." Althea said nervously, standing up. "Let's get going."

Toran rolled his eyes but stood up as well. "You don't have to worry about him. I'm the prince, remember? He'll listen to me." He said, walking with the others out the door to meet Umou.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5 The General

"Why did you guys have to get so much meat?" Althea looked at the pounds of jerky in her new brown sack in dismay.  
"What's wrong with meat? Do you not like it?" Toran said around a bite of turkey jerky, his eyebrows raised in surprise.  
"Well no, I like meat, but isn't there anything else?" Althea pushed aside the paper packages of meat, trying to find something else.  
"There's always foraging, Althea. I know a thing or two about the woods. If you want something other than meat, I can find it for you." Xicro smiled to her, and she sighed in relief.  
"There's nothing wrong with it." Toran muttered defensively, and Radica chuckled.  
"I think what she's trying to say is that humans are mostly omnivores, remember? They like green stuff too." Radica winked back at Althea, who nodded.  
Althea hadn't really thought of that before- if they were human-like versions of their animals, did that make them all carnivores?  
"We can eat greens too, if that's what you're wondering." Radica said, seeing Althea's thoughtful face. "It just tastes yucky." She continued, sticking out her tongue in disgust.  
Toran looked up as a shadow was cast over them from above, and he swallowed his jerky quickly before letting out a loud shout, surprising the rest of the group. A flock of birds started circling overhead, one of the figures separating from the rest of the group in a dive bomb toward the ground, the form getting bigger and bigger as it fell. Althea let out a small squeak of fear, stepping back a few feet from the others as the diving humanus eyed her with blazing yellow eyes. Weapons were drawn as the bird tackled Althea to the ground, holding a clawed hand to her throat threateningly.  
"Say your name, and your purpose. NOW!" The bird yelled, its large black wings flapping behind it angrily. His face was a deep black, and white chest was covered in thousands of black spots. Althea, in her wild panic, noticed that his hair was actually long feathers.  
"A-Althea- I don't have any purpose! Please don't hurt me." Althea stammered, looking at the claws at her throat in fear  
"TOBIAS!" a female voice yelled from behind them as a pale, female humanus touched to the ground, her eyebrows furrowed in anger. The humanus holding Althea flinched, his eyes widening as he looked behind him.  
"For Gods' sake, THINK before you attack, numbskull! She's with Toran, do you think he would allow and enemy to walk next to him?" She was entirely white, except for light brown wings and a soft ring around her face. The long feathers that ran down her shoulders were light brown, swaying as she grabbed at Tobias' shoulder to get him off Althea. "I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse him. My name is Sora." She offered a hand to Althea as she pushed Tobias away from the human.  
"Why did he attack me?" Althea said quietly, looking at Tobias with wide eyes as she took Sora's hand to stand up.  
"I would like to know the answer as well." Toran said, his voice low in anger as he glared at Tobias.  
"He just came back from a scouting trip to the human's camp. They started shooting at him in the air, and he's not really recovered yet, I think."  
"Ah- I see." Toran looked to Tobias, who was running a hand through his 'hair' nervously, looking around at all the angry people.  
"Look, I'm sorry. I don't know what went through my head." Tobias said, looking to Sora nervously.  
"Don't apologize to me, she's the one who almost had her throat ripped out." Sora pointed to Althea, who made a small sound of fear and grabbed her throat.  
Tobias sighed, his wings drooping behind him. "I'm sorry." He looked down at Althea with his bright yellow eyes, but Althea nodded quickly.  
"Tobias, you must control yourself more. Even though she's human, there's no excuse for undeeded threats." A deep voice sounded from behind Sora, and a large- VERY large- bird humanus walked up to them, looking over the scene below him before relaxing. Scars and spots of missing brown feathers covered his entire face and shoulders as he walked forward, a heavy pair of leather pants being the only thing he was wearing. Althea looked up at him in surprise as who could only be Umou looked at her shocked expression with a slight smile before turning away.  
"Good afternoon, my prince. We have much to discuss." Umou looked down at Toran, who was only just over half his height.  
"Agreed. Umou, how tall are you now?" Toran looked up at Umou, his tail swishing behind him anxiously.  
"12 feet, why?" the Haast eagle humanus raised an eyebrow curiously at the question.  
"I thought so. Is that all that's left of your division?" Toran looked to the humanus standing behind Umou.  
"Yes, I'm afraid so. The humans found our encampment a few weeks ago, and we lost several men. Luckily we were able to hold them off and escape to a new location." Umou looked to Althea as she shook her head in dismay with a sigh. "What is wrong, small one?" he asked.  
"I just don't understand why they're killing you guys. It doesn't make sense to me." Althea shook her head again.  
"Where is she from?" Umou said as he watched her movements, but directing the question to Toran.  
"Um… that's also what I wanted to talk about. Do you remember the story of the human coming through the mirror?" Toran said, glancing over to Althea as Xicro and Radica started chatting with her.  
"You mean the king? Of course I do." Umou replied.  
"She also came through the mirror. She appeared in a field next to the capitol about three days ago. I found her, and she was in the strangest clothing. She wants to find a way home somehow, and I don't want her to get mixed up in this war. She doesn't belong here."  
"Toran, she'll have to be second priority. You're the prince of the kingdom, and you have to lead the army into battle." Umou said softly.  
"I know, but I'd hate to see the one human that doesn't hate us get killed."  
"I understand. However, I have an urgent matter I must ask of you." Umou said quietly, to try and prevent the other from hearing them. "A town in the avian region was attacked just two days ago. The humans are said to have taken prisoners of many of the humanus there. They may be still alive, and are being held in a prison not too far from here. I would ask his majesty if he would like to assist in a rescue mission." Umou stood to his full height and looked around for any sign of danger before looking down at Toran expectedly.  
"Of course I will." Toran nodded, turned to Xicro, Radica and Althea. "I'm afraid we'll be making another side trip. There are some humanus being held prisoner not too far from here. Are you guys up for a rescue?"  
"Of course" Radica smiled as Xicro nodded. Althea looked to them nervously for a minute before nodding as well.  
Toran smiled at her anxiousness, and put a hand on her head reassuringly. "Don't worry Althea, I'll make sure you don't get hurt."  
Althea smiled to him in thanks and looked at Tobias, who was being thoroughly scolded by Sora.  
"Hey-" Althea walked toward them and looked toward Tobias. "It's okay, really. I understand why you did it." she said, holding out a hand to shake. Tobias looked at her in surprise before smiling and shaking her hand.  
"Thanks. I guess I need to take a break for a while." He said sheepishly, looking to Sora with a smirk.  
"We should get going then. There's no telling what they'll do to those captured." Umou said, running for a ways before leaping into the air, his great wings carrying him higher to direct the group on the direction to travel. Tobias and Sora leaped into the air almost automatically to follow their leader toward the prison, Toran and his group following on the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6 The Exception

Toran looked anxiously at the large stone building in front of him, the human guards on the outside looking around cautiously. He slid back behind the bush as they looked into his direction, looking at Xicro with bright eyes.  
"You guys ready?" he whispered, smiling when Xicro grinned wildly and unraveled his whip. Toran unsheathed his sword and looked to Althea, who nodded as well.  
Toran looked up at the avian humanus above them, waving a hand to Tobias, knowing all too well they would see his movement. The birds flew above the humans as Radica jumped from the bush, flinging two daggers directly into their necks. They fell to the ground with a choking gurgling sound, clutching their necks. The group filed into the building silently as the birds landed behind them, following in as well. Sora put a reassuring hand on Althea as she walked behind her, seeing Althea shake with fear as they entered the next room. In it was another human, along with two humanus in the corner. Toran quickly took out the human with his sword, and Althea looked over to the two humanus in interest.  
"Hey guys, we're here to help." She kneeled down, holding out her hands welcomingly. They still stayed in the corner, and Althea sighed.  
The smaller figure looked at her with large blue eyes, and shifted slightly out of the shadows. "You a good human?" She said in a small voice.  
"Yeah, I'm a good one." Althea smiled and kneeled back down with open arms. A young roadrunner humanus ran toward her, the small flightless wings on her back fluttering. Althea looked down as the small girl hugged her tightly, letting out a soft moan of depression.  
"I was so scared. Are you here to help us?" she looked up at Althea, her soft feathered hair rustling.  
"Yeah, we're here to help you." Althea nodded as Toran kneeled down as well, patting the little girl on the head.  
"What's your name?" he asked, his voice soft.  
"Peeperis. But I like Peep better." The girl smiled to Toran and looked over at the other figure, still in the shadows. "That's Sox. He must be shy."  
"Sox?" Umou looked over in interest and smiled as the figure perked up at the sound of a familiar voice. "Come on boy, your mother must be worried sick." Umou, who was already hunched over from the low ceiling, held out a hand as the figure stood. A young cardinal humanus, bright red in color, walked over to Umou, his crest sticking up anxiously as he looked toward Althea. It lowered when he looked up at Umou.  
"I'm glad you came to get us. There are others though."  
"Where's Nawu?" Peeps looked around in Althea's arms, but pouted when she didn't see anyone else in the room. "We need to find Nawu, I heard him earlier today. He didn't sound too good." She tugged pleadingly at Althea's collar.  
"Who's Nawu?" Toran looked at Umou in confusion, who shrugged.  
"Not Nawu, Naru." Sox sighed, looking over to Peeps from under one of Umou's massive wings. "He's further in. There are a lot more humans further in."  
"Right. Let's get going, then." Toran stood, sword in hand.

They made their way through the maze of halls and rooms, finding in each room either a humanus long dead, or half starved. Saving as many as they could, they finally made their way to the room at the furthest end of the last hallway.  
"This must be where Naru is." Toran said, opening the heavy wooden door slowly. This was the only room that they had seen with a window, the sunlight from outside casting a beam into several green feathers lying on the ground around the figure, who was curled in the corner in a fetal position.  
"Naru?" Toran asked, and the figure looked up, scampering against the wall, but hissing out in pain at the contact. They fell on their knees and held their shoulders to try and ward off the pain.  
"What's wrong?" Althea started forward, but Naru moved backwards defensively.  
"Stay back." He said in a raspy voice, watching her with wide green eyes.  
"Where are your wings, Nawu?" Peeps asked him from behind Althea. Naru stepped into the light of the room, his bright blue body contrasting with the green of his long peacock tail feathers.  
"The humans took them." He smiled to Peeps, but his eyes showed the pain he was feeling. Sora hissed in pity from behind Althea.  
"I don't think it's closed yet. It still hurts a lot." Naru continued, trying to look behind his back.  
"Would you mind if I took a look?" Althea asked softly, setting Peeps down onto the ground gently.  
Naru looked at Althea with searching eyes before looking at how Peeps was clutching at the skirt of Althea's dress.  
"I guess." He nodded, watching her every move as she approached him.  
Althea walked behind him, flinching when she saw the bloody mess around two stumps of bone jutting out from his shoulder blades.  
"It probably looks pretty bad." Naru said softly. "Mind the tail, though."  
Althea looked down at the green feathers at her feet, figuring they had to be at least 10 feet long. She stood on either side of the feathers as she examined the wound, touching him gently on the shoulder, but he flinched at the contact.  
"Does anyone have a spare shirt they can let me use?" Althea asked the group. Tobias looked into the pouch tied to his waist, and throwing a white tunic over to her. Althea thanked him and started ripping the tunic in pieces, tying it around Naru's wound to try and protect it.  
"That may not help much, but it'll do for now. We'll wash it out when we get to some water." She said, looking toward the bowl of water that had been left in the room in disgust, seeing the slime coating its surface.  
"Thank you." Naru said softly, looking over his shoulder.  
"It's no problem." Althea smiled and hopped over his tail to avoid stepping on it.  
"Well then, we should drop you guys off at the avian village before we continue recruiting." Toran looked to Naru and the children.  
"Recruiting for what?" Naru looked to Toran curiously.  
"We're taking a stand against the humans. I'm recruiting all those adept at fighting." Toran explained.  
"Oh good, I'll come along then." Naru said, starting to walk forward with his long tail dragging behind him.  
"Um…" Toran looked at Naru uneasily. "I don't think you would last very long in a battle with that tail."  
"Oh, I don't fight physically." Naru chuckled. He held out his hands, his tail unfurling against his back as a small golden glow appeared between his palms, making everyone around him, save Althea, back up quickly against the wall in fear.


	7. Chapter 7

"You can do _magic?_" Toran gaped at the small golden sphere between Naru's hands.  
"yes, my entire family could." Naru let the light fade, his tail feathers folding behind him.  
"I remember someone saying that the peacock humanus were special, but I thought they had died along with the furso." Xicro said quietly, still stunned by the sight of magic from a humanus.  
"Most did. I was raised by an old sparrow. My parents were killed when I was very young." Naru nodded sadly.  
"How much magic do you know?" Toran looked Naru over, from his black bird-like feet to his green and blue feather-like hair. He was so noticeable it was almost laughable- he would be a direct target in battle.  
"Enough." Naru grinned, his image slowly fading to that of a human with tan skin and brown hair, but the same bright green eyes. "It's only an illusion, though. If anyone touches me, they'll feel feathers rather than skin." Naru glanced back at Althea, who was watching him in shock. "Can't she do magic too?"  
"No, she can't. She's not from around here." Toran looked over to Althea, amused by her shock at seeing magic.  
"I guess not, huh? I thought all humans knew magic. Where is she from?"  
"A long way away. We'll discuss this later- I'd like to get the children out of here." Toran looked to Sox, who was still hiding among the feathers of Umou's massive brown wings.  
"Agreed." Naru let the illusion fall, returning to his normal appearance as he walked out of the room. Toran walked in, putting a hand on Althea's shoulder to guide the shocked woman out the door.  
"You'll have a lot more than that to deal with, Althea. You'll be okay." He said softly as they walked out to follow the others.

Althea glanced to Naru as they walked through a forest to the nearest avian village. Naru was discussing with Toran what he had heard from the humans while he was in the dungeon. She was still chocked from the sight of Naru's magic, and was amused by his abnormal appearance compared to the other bird humanus. The long peacock tail behind him was about 10 feet long, and dragged like a bridal train. His hair was made of longer green and blue feathers with a series of Mohawk-like antennae feathers along his head. There was no doubt that he was a peacock, even without his brown wings.  
She noticed that while he was walking he was starting to slow down, falling behind everyone has his breath got heavy.  
"Are you okay?" Althea asked, slowing to walk beside him.  
"I'm not sure, I'm in a lot of pain again." Naru tried to look at the bandage over his shoulder blades, but couldn't quite see it.  
"Let me check." Althea looked at his back, her heard skipping a beat when she saw the blood-soaked bandages, dripping down the blue feathers of his back.  
"Hey Toran, could we stop at a river or creek or something?" Althea called out Toran, who was walking ahead with the rest of the group.  
"Sure." He called back, then continued his conversation with Umou.  
"That bad, huh?" Naru asked quietly.  
"You're bleeding a lot. I just want to wash your wound and back, and clean out the bandages."  
Naru looked back at her in silence for a bit, but smiled as he looked away. "Where are you from, anyway? Toran never answered."  
"I'm from Michigan." Althea said quietly, patting the mirror tied to her belt, making sure it was safe.  
"Mitchieagin? Weird name for a town." Naru whispered thoughtfully. "Where in the human kingdom is that?"  
"It's not. I picked up a mirror in Michigan, and wound up in a huge field. Toran found me."  
Woah- wait." Naru stopped in his tracks, looking at Althea in surprise. "You're from the mirror? Like the legend?"  
Althea sighed and took the mirror off her belt, showing the shattered glass to naru. He took it from her and turned it around, studying it in interest.  
"I want to find a way back home. Mu family is probably worried sick about me."  
"So then you don't know magic, because in your world there isn't magic?"  
"No, no real magic, only tricks. No humanus either, just normal animals who can't talk."  
Naru stayed silent for a bit, then looked away from Althea nervously. "So you like humanus?"  
Althea smiled softly. "They're different, that's for sure. But I like you guys just fine. I guess I'm still getting used to the idea of humanoid animals talking to me."  
"I'm still getting used to the idea of a human who can't do magic." Naru chickled. "Maybe you just don't know how to use it?"  
Althea shrugged as they started walking again, trying to catch up with the others.

"Alright, we're just about to the village. There's a river nearvy, Althea." Toran pointed to a body of water in the distance.  
"I'll go and wash Naru's wounds. You guys bring the kids to the village and get them settled." Althea said with a smile, walking with Naru to the water. He hissed as his feet dipped into the cold water, but he walked into the waves quickly, shivering at the temperature as he held his tail feathers above the water.  
"Just be careful alright? I don't want to lose any more feathers than I already have." Naru smirked back to Althea as she started unwrapping the bandage from around him, resting her head against his shoulder as she reached around his chest to unravel the cloth. Naru tensed slightly, but relaxed as Althea stood again. She hissed in pity at the bloody mess that were the remains of the wings that had once sprung from Naru's back. The exposed bone was cracked and jagged, showing that the bone hadn't been cut, but had been broken off. She took the cloth and soaked it in the water for a bit before starting to rinse out Naru's back by wringing the water onto his back. He arched his spine at the cold water, letting out a yelp of surprise.  
"What are you doing back there?" He tried to turn his head to see her, but the pain stopped him from turning all the way around.  
"If I don't rinse it out, it'll get infected and then you'll have big problems. Just calm down." Althea chuckled as Naru held his tail feathers protectively against his chest. She washed out his wounds, then scrubbed the blood out of the down-like feathers of his back, a few of the feathers coming off onto her arms.  
"Do you molt at all?" Althea laughed as she looked down at the bright blue feathers all over her.  
"Yeah, why? Is it time already?" Naru looked down at the blue feathers floating in the river down the current, and shook his head in dismay. "Figures. It must only be the feathers on my back, though."  
"Well what do we have here?" A voice said, making Althea and Naru jump and turn around to see a man standing at the bank of the river, grinning at them wildly. "Is the girly washing her birdie? Oh look, the bird must have lost his wings somehow." The man pouted mockingly.  
"Who are you?" Althea demanded, knowing that this human must be an enemy to mock Naru in such a way.  
"My name is Sei, bitch. You have some nerve, don't you? Traveling with our enemy when you could be on the winning side of this war. Your stupidity will cost your life, girl." Sei smiled as he unsheathed his sword. Naru stepped back nervously at the sight, and glanced behind him only to see a girl watching him intently from a branch in a tree on the opposite bank. She waved to him happily, jumping down from the branch.  
Naru looked from one human to the other before making a squeak of fear and raising his hands into the air, shooting a bright golden pillar of light above him, hoping to signal Toran and the others to come help them before it was too late.


	8. Chapter 8

"There you go peeps, this will be your new family. Be good for them, alright?" Toran smiled to the small girl as she looked up at the raven couple before her.  
"Okay Toran. Come back soon, okay?" Peeps hugged Toran's leg happily and ran to the couple, giggling as the male raven humanus picked her up and tossed her into the air playfully. Toran smiled in satisfaction and turned around, but felt a hot sensation against his back. He turned around to stare at the huge pillar of golden light in horror, his green eyes widening in fear when he realized that Naru must be signaling for help.  
Althea was with him.  
"Shit!" Toran yelled, unsheathing his sword as he ran through the streets of the village, trying to find the quickest route to the river. Xicro looked up at the light as well and froze, unwrapping his whip against from his hip, winding the end of it around his wrist as he ran after Toran.  
"Radica, hurry!" Xicro called behind his shoulder at the lynx, who nodded and started running as well. Humanus everywhere panicked at the sight of magic in the distance and ran into their houses as Toran and the other passed, yells coming from all around him.  
"Everyone get inside! No one come out until I say you can!" Toran yelled to the people in the village as he ran, looking at the river wildly as he saw four figures in the distance, Naru lowering his hands as the pillar of light faded.

"_Magic_?" Sei looked at Naru in shock, and the shock soon turned into anger. "No humanus should be able to do magic. How can you?"  
"He's a peacock brother. Remember what our mother told us? Peacocks are special. A little too special, I think." Rain glared at Naru, who looked at the two humans nervously. He gulped nervously before grabbing Althea by the hip and dragging her closer to him, holding out his hands in threat.  
"Come closer and you both fry. You know how magic works, and I know how to make it into a weapon." He said, his voice wavering slightly.  
"Aw look, the little birdie's trying to use his talons. What should we do with him, Rain?" Sei smiled down to Naru, who watched him warily, put kept his arms up.  
"I think it's time the peacocks were wiped out. They're a little too flashy for my taste anyway." Rain smiled as she held out her hand to Naru, a faint white glow forming in her palm. She looked up in surprise as a flash of blur jumped over Sei, landing in front of him with a low growl.  
Toran crouched low to the ground, his teeth bared as he stared at the human in front of him, the sword in her hand aching for a battle. He let out a low cat-like growl as his eyes narrowed at Sei's triumphant laugh.  
"Well look who we have here!" Sei yelled to his sister, locking swords with Toran. Althea watched in horror as Toran rolled out from under the sword, standing his full height before Sei as he went in for another attack. Meanwhile Xicro was running toward the bank of the river, swinging his whip around him. He threw it so that it locked around a tree branch and used it to swing himself across the water, landing in front of Rain with a wide grin. He pulled at the whip and the branch broke under the metal's strain, freeing the whip.  
"And who might you be?" Rain smiled sweetly.  
"I'm the librarian." Xicro smiled mockingly, and swung his whip around him again, preparing for another attack.  
"Xicro, watch out!" Radica yelled as a white form started forming in Rain's hand. Xicro glanced at the palm with wide eyes, not able to stop his own whip, lest he hit himself instead of Rain. Radica ran over to him, jumping over the river before landing in front of him before the white light burst from Rain's hand, hitting Radica in the chest as she flung two spikes from her hands. Rain cried out in pain as the spikes landed in her upper arm. Xicro caught Radica as she fell, looking down at her burned chest in horror.  
"Radica?" he whispered, hardly able to believe what she had just done for him. She chuckled in his arms, coughing up blood as she looked up at him. She tried to talk, but no air would come out of her mouth. She twitched slightly, her eyes wide as she gasped for breath before finally staying still, her eyes open wide in fear.  
"Radica." Althea gasped, looking over to Toran as he fought a fierce battle with Sei. He jumped back a few steps to catch his breath, and caught sight of Radica. Toran froze for a minute before going back to battle, his swings fueled with anger. Sei glanced to his sister and seeing that she was wounded, bared his teeth in an equal amount of rage. Naru still held a tight grip around Althea's waist, refusing to let her go into battle and help Xicro and Toran.  
"Sei!" Rain looked to her brother as he stepped away from another clash with Toran. He looked at Rain and nodded, stepping away a few more steps before starting to run in the opposite direction, Sei following him from the other side of the river.  
"Coward, get back here!" Toran yelled, but sheathed his sword, knowing a retreat when he saw one. He saw Althea scramble up the side of the bank to get to Radica, her eyes wide as she looked down at the lynx's burned body.  
"No, I only just met her." Althea choked as Xicro held Radica in his arms tightly, hardly able to believe that she was really gone.  
"Althea!" Naru yelled as a burst of red light hit Althea on the back, making her yell in pain and slump forward. Naru struggled to fight the current as Toran jumped over the river, leaning next to Althea and sat her up again, careful not to touch her back. She looked up at him with tears of pain in her eyes, but looked away, not wanting him to see her tears.  
"I-it hurts." She whispered, her eyes clenching closed as she felt blood dripping down her back.  
"Sit her up more." Naru said, having climbed up the bank of the river and kneeled on the other side of Althea.  
Toran nodded and Naru wrapped the bandages around her that she had put on him and washed. He tied it in front, leaning away from her.  
"I can't believe this." Toran looked first at Radica, then at Althea.  
"That's the price of war, Toran. Death isn't pleasant." Xicro said in a brittle voice and stood, holding Radica in his arms as he tried to cross the river again to get to the village.  
"She fell asleep." Naru said, looking down at Althea's closed eyes curiously.  
"No, she fainted." Toran said in concern, carefully putting his arms under her to carry her to the village as well.  
"She told me where she was from. She has to get back to her own world, Toran. She doesn't belong in all of this." Naru looked down at Althea's pained face.  
Toran stood with Althea in his arms and nodded in agreement. "I just hope she can get back after all that she's been through. I honestly don't know how to do it." Toran looked to Naru anxiously. "Can you heal with your magic?"  
"Only scratches, and not anything as deep as that. I could try, though." Naru looked at Althea's back, noticing the pale skin exposed by her singed dress. "We'll have to put the bandages on better quickly though, or she'll only get worse."  
"What about your back?"  
"She's worse than me now, I'll live." Naru shrugged, and jumped into the river to wade to the other side, Toran behind him with Althea.


	9. Chapter 9

"She can rest here." Spra pushed blankets off a bed as Toran leaned down to set Althea down gently on the mattress on her stomach. He made sure she could breathe well and brought a chair over from the other side of the room to beside the bed.  
"I'll put on her bandages." Sora took the cloth from Naru and looked at them both expectedly. "Well? Out you go- you guys shouldn't see this." Sora said sternly, pushing Toran and naru out of the room before closing the door behind them. She let out a sigh and turned around, looking at Althea in concern as she started shaking from the pain.  
"Sorry girly, but this has to be done." Sora whispered, sitting on the bed beside Althea. She propped the human against her front, spreading blood over her uniform uncaringly. She started pulling Althea's dress off, careful to avoid tearing any skin from her back while she pulled the dried blood. She flinched at the sucking sound the fabric made as if came off her and set the ruined dress beside her on the mattress. She blinked in confusion at the tattered mess of white lace fabric around her front, but slipped that down her arms as well, putting it on top of the dress. Sora took the prepared bowl of water beside her and wrung a cloth out, carefully patting the wound.  
"You really got hurt, didn't you?" She whispered as the washing revealed scorched skin. "Lucky for you it didn't burn down to your spine."  
Althea let out a small sound, squirming in Sora's grip, trying to get away.  
"Are you awake? Don't worry, this is Sora. I won't let a guy see you like this." The barn owl smiled softly, glad Althea was at least conscious again.  
Althea stopped strugging, relaxing as Sora finished washing her burns. She took another cloth and soaked it in diluted alcohol.  
"This will hurt." She warned, setting the cloth against Althea's wound.

Toran jumped up as a shattering scream filled the small house. He ran to the door and rushed into the room, only to meet Sora's fierce glare.  
"Get the hell out!" She yelled, throwing Althea's dress at him to distract him. Toran caught it and flushed at the sight of Althea's bare back.  
"Sorry!" he stammered, and shut the door again, his eyes wide.  
"What's with you? Why did Althea scream like that?" Naru said, amused by Toran's flush.  
"Sora's cleaning her wounds." Toran mutterd, and leaned against the wall behind him to act as if nothing had happened.

"Honestly, he has to quit being so jumpy." Sora growled, trying to distract Althea from the pain of the alcohol. She finished and started wrapping the bandage around her chest.  
"Make a noise if it's too tight." She said, wrapping her and tying it off with a sturdy knot on her lower back. She set Althea down on the bed on her stomach again, looking down at her thoughtfully. "I hope you get better, Althea. You've sure started to change things. You're the only human I've ever met who didn't want my head on a stake." She chuckled and covered Althea with a blanket, opening the door to see Toran standing casually.  
"_Now_ you can go in." Sora walked past him. "Just be gentle with her."  
Toran nodded and looked to Naru, who motioned for him to go in first.  
Toran walked into the dark room, closing the door behind him as he looked to Althea. He fought a sudden sinking feeling in his chest as he sat in the chair beside her bed, looking down at her in dismay.  
"Some protector I turned out to be." He growled, running a hand through his brown hair uneasily. He looked at the thick bandages on her back, and noticed the sweat beading on her forehead from pain. He shifted in his seat uneasily for a moment before reaching over to the bowl of water and wiping the damp cloth across her forehead. He looked at her thoughtfully before running the back of his hand across her forehead.  
"Your skin is so smooth. I've never touched a human before, other than hurting them." Toran ran the black pads of his fingers over her ear, down her nose. They were so different, yet she accepted it so easily. He had no idea how she could be so brave when she was so defenseless. If he lost his sword, he ad least had his fangs and claws, but she had neither.  
How could he have let her get hurt so badly? He felt a strange tugging as he realized she might die from her burns, or at least be unable to walk.  
"I never meant for you to get stuck in this war, Althea. You're too nice to try and kill someone." He looked away guiltily and let out a deep sigh. He had fought so often in his life, he wasn't fazed by death at all, but from her reactions it was the first time she had seen someone die in front of her. She wouldn't be able to kill someone, even if she wanted to. She had too much innocence in her.  
Althea's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Toran, a weak smile coming over her face. "Toran?"  
Toran looked down at her in surprise and leaned so she could see his face better. "Yeah, I'm here. How are you feeling?"  
"Sore." She chuckled slightly, but the quick breathing movements made her hiss in pain. Toran looked down at her in concern, putting a hand on her shoulder nervously.  
"I'm fine, Toran." She said, her voice raspy. "Don't worry."  
"Of course I'm going to worry- you have a huge burn on your back, and I wasn't able to stop you from getting hurt. This is my fault."  
"This isn't your fault." Althea said sternly, looking up at Toran with a frown. "There was no way to tell they were going to do that."  
"I said I'd protect you, though."  
"And you did a great job- I'm not used to this place. I don't know how to fight. I'm just afraid of what my back will look like after this. It'll probably be a pretty nasty scar."  
Toran shook his head in disbelief that she was already thinking about scars. "You'll look fine, Althea. Just worry about getting healed for now."  
Althea nodded and looked up at him, her eyes soft. "Thank you for coming to rescue me." She smiled.  
Toran smiled back, putting his furred hand over hers cautiously. "How could I not? You'll get better, Althea. Everyone here is worried about you."  
"What about Radica?" Althea whispered. Toran sighed, his ears lowering sadly.  
"Xicro is digging her grave right now. He wouldn't let anyone help him. I think he's taking her death pretty hard."  
"I don't blame him." Althea said softly, letting out a soft sigh as she shifted slightly under the blanket.  
"Just worry about yourself for now, okay? I already lost one friend, I don't want to lost you too." He squeezed her hand reassuringly.  
"Alright." She smiled, and closed her eyes softly.  
"I think Naru wants to make sure you're alright too." Toran said, taking his hand away.  
"Alright, he can come in. After that I'll get some sleep."  
"Good idea. I'll make some food for your dinner when you wake up."  
"Not all meat, please." Althea giggled.  
Toran smiled softly and nodded as he stood. "Alright, I'll get you some greens too." He chuckled, and watched her for a minute before walking out of the room.  
"She's awake, if you want to see her." Toran looked to Naru. They watched each other for a moment, a harsh tension rising in the air between them. Naru broke the stare, walking stiffly into Althea's room.  
"I'll talk with her." He said, glancing at Toran's bight green eyes watching him. He closed the door behind himself, relieved to be out of the line of those stern eyes' stare.  
Naru walked over to the bed, the talons on the bottom of his feet clicking against the wood as he tried to figure out how to sit in the chair without squishing his tail feathers. He finally decided to turn the chair sideways and settled down in it, looking at Althea's grin as she watched him.  
"You have no idea how many times I've got to do things like that." Naru chuckled, glancing at the long train of feathers behind him.  
"I believe it." She giggled, and bit her lip nervously. "Toran's feeling guilty that he didn't protect me. Are you feeling the same way?"  
"Of course. I was right next to you for most of the time." Naru looked shook his head in disgust at himself.  
Althea rolled her eyes with a deep sigh "Then I'll say the same thing to you. There was no way to tell that they would have done that. You're not at fault, Toran's not at fault, if anyone that guy… Sei? It's his fault."  
Naru looked away from Althea guiltily. "Althea, I've never been good in battle. I get scared, and freeze up when someone's attacking me. All I can do is shoot energy at them and hope that I hit."  
"That's enough though. You protected me, remember? If you hadn't let off the beam of light, the others never would have known what happened. That was very clever Naru, there's no need for you to feel guilty. Jeez, am I that defenseless that you guys feel so bad when I get hurt?" Althea sighed.  
"Well, you're so nice. You're the only human that doesn't hate us. It's something I don't want to lose easily. Besides, you might not be totally defenseless."  
"What do you mean?" Althea looked up to Naru in confusion.  
"Remember from earlier, that you might have magic but don't know how to use it? How about when you get better and are all healed, I'll give you some lessons on how to use it? Who knows, you may have some magic in you even if you're from a different world."  
Althea looked at him warily, not able to believe that she could do magic. The only magic she had seen was the equivalent of making something disappear or float back on Earth. What Naru had done was a totally different thing altogether.  
"Alright, we'll do some lessons, but I doubt I actually have any magic, Naru."  
"We'll see. For now you should sleep, and I'll keep a watch out for any trouble. If you hear anything going on _don't try to stand up._ Trust me, it'll feel a lot worse than you think it would." Naru glanced to his shoulder, wondering how his back looked.  
"Oh yeah- aren't these your bandages? You should be taking care of your back too." Althea looked up at Naru, her eyes wide.  
"No, you're worse off now. Just rest, and I'll take care of myself. Besides, if you don't get better I have a feeling Toran is going to pluck me." Naru shivered at Toran's icy stare from earlier.  
"I won't let him pluck you." Althea chuckled, and put her palm over Naru's blue feathered hand. "Don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine. It'll just take some time for me to heal. Tell the others not to worry about me too." She smiled.  
Naru looked down at her hand in surprise, blinking a few times in confusion before nodding silently. He looked at her with a strange expression of confusion and pain before standing quickly and turning toward the door. "I'll go tell the others you'll be alright, Althea. For now, get some rest."  
Althea looked at Naru in concern as he closed the door to her room behind himself, wondering why he had made such a strange expression when she had touched his hand. She sighed and slowly moved to a more comfortable position before falling asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Althea heard footsteps coming toward her and opened her eyes to see Toran holding a tray of food sit down in the chair beside her bed. He set the tray down on the mattress beside her, looking her over to see any immediate problems.  
"Are you feeling better?" He said, watching as she tried to roll over to sit up, keeping her blanket tight around her. He held her shoulders for support as she moved around to sit up, her eyes clenched in pain.  
"I don't know if you should be moving this much." Toran said uneasily as he felt the bandages on her back shift under his palms.  
"I can't eat lying down, I'll slobber all over myself." Althea muttered, concentrating on twisting her back without screaming in pain.  
Toran supported her, turning more anxious when he saw the blood leaking through some of the thinner bandages on her back.  
"Here- stay still." Toran ordered, and sat on the bed beside her, so that she was propped up against him and didn't have to try and use the muscles on her back. She looked up at him in surprise and sighed in relief, relaxing against his shoulder.  
"Thank you." She chuckled. "What an annoying injury. I can't even sit up."  
"You're fine. I'll just wash my shirt after this. It's no big deal." Toran leaned over and picked up the tray of food, setting it on her lap. "I got you some meat and some fruit. I didn't know how you like your meat cooked, so I only cooked it a little." He looked at the pieces of rabbit meat on the plate, wondering if Naru had been right that humans eat their meat cooked.  
"This will be fine. As long as it didn't have rabies or something." Althea smiled as she looked down at the strange meat. "What kind is it? Pork, beef?"  
"Rabbit. Avian humanus don't raise livestock." Toran rolled his eyes. It was quite an inconvenience for him, and he was glad they had gotten so much jerky on the way here. "I had Naru pick out the fruit. He said these taste good." Toran pointed to the small green melons on the plate.  
Althea picked it up, turning it around curiously. "What is it?"  
"It's called Xala fruit, I think."  
Althea bit into the juicy fruit, surprised to see that the inside was hot pink colored. It tasted a lot like a kiwi, though.  
"It is good." She said, popping the rest of the small fruit into her mouth. She looked to Toran uneasily at how to eat the rabbit with just a knife. She would be glad to have forks and spoons once she was back in her own world.  
"Just cut it and eat it with your hands." Toran said, looking at her in surprise that she didn't know how to cut the meat. Was she feeling that weak?  
Althea nodded and cut the meat, chewing it carefully. It was pretty raw still, but cooked enough that it didn't make her cringe. She smiled to Toran, who smiled back with relief.  
"So how long did I sleep?" Althea asked before eating another of the fruits.  
"About 5 hours." Toran answered, picking up a small fruit and sniffing it curiously before wrinkling his nose and putting it back on the plate.  
"Wow, that long?" Althea chuckled. "How is everyone doing?"  
"Well, Naru's still talking to Sox. About what I have no idea, but they've been talking alone for a couple hours now. Peeps is happy with her new raven parents, and Umou Sora and Tobias are all on another scouting mission to see where those two humans who attacked you went."  
"They're probably long gone." Althea shook her head. "They wouldn't stick around after doing something like this."  
"No, they wouldn't. I want to rip that man's throat out though." Toran growled, looking away from Althea as his eyes flashed with anger.  
"Please don't kill someone for my sake, Toran." Althea looked at him with her eyes wide. "I don't want anyone to die just because I got hurt." Toran shook his head with a smile, making Althea look at him in confusion. "What?"  
"You're too nice Althea."  
Althea rolled her eyes, wondering how being nice could be a bad thing. She finished her meal and bit her lip nervously, wondering if it was okay to stay in this position, resting against Toran's chest.  
Toran watched her silently for a bit, his eyes dark with thought. "Althea, what's your world like?" He finally broke the silence, but the question surprised Althea.  
"What do you mean?"  
"You came from a different world through the mirror, right? What's it like there? Is it a lot like it is here?" Toran raised his eyebrows curiously as Althea looked around the room uneasily.  
"No, not at all. My world is… more scientific."  
"Scientific? What's that?" Toran looked down at her in confusion. Althea looked up at him with wide eyes in shock, but sighed, remembering that his world had magic. Who needed science when you could wave your hand to get what you wanted?  
"Science is what my people came up with because they have no magic. It makes things easier to work with."  
"Like what?"  
"Well, for one we have light that can be turned on and off with a lever. It can be bright any time of the night."  
Toran blinked for a moment in surprise. "You can do that? What else?"  
"Well, we can build cars to drive in to go faster than riding horses or walking, we can build planes that carry people through the air to get overseas for traveling. There's lots of things."  
Toran shook his head in disbelief. "You're lying now. Giant birds that fly overseas with people in them? Right." He smirked, but held up a hand when Althea started to protest. "It's time to check your burns. Naru said he could heal them a little bit, but I just want to make sure."  
Althea blushed, holding her blanket around her more tightly. "There's no way I'm letting you take these bandages off, Toran. I don't have anything on under there."  
Toran looked away uneasily. "But Sora's gone, and Xicro's still taking care of Radica."  
Althea watched him for a moment and sighed when she realized he was right. Her wounds needed to be cleaned again, and no one else was around to do it.  
"A-alright, but if you try anything funny I swear I'll punch you through the wall." Althea said, turning so that she was kneeling in front of him on the mattress with her back facing toward him.  
Toran swallowed a lump in his throat before untying the knot on the back of the bandages, slowly pulling at the cloth until it came loose, revealing pale skin underneath. He flinched at the feeling of that smooth skin on his palm and quickly backed away from Althea.  
"Maybe you'd better unwrap it yourself. I'll look away." Toran said, turning his head to stare at the door across the room. His ears twitched as he heard the rustling of fabric and he tried to calm the rising anxiety in him. Why was he acting so strangely? All he was doing was cleaning the wounds on her back, it was not a big deal.  
"Alright." He heard Althea say, and turned around to see her clutching her blanket to her shoulders, the bright red and purple welts on her back contrasting sharply with the pale skin of her shoulders. He had to admit, the burn did look really bad.  
"Alright, I'll go get the water. You won't need for alcohol this time." Toran said, standing to get the ceramic bowl of fresh water with the rag still soaking. He brought it over, setting it on the chair he had been in while sitting behind her on the mattress. He took the washcloth from the water, wringing it before starting to pat down her burns gently.  
"So, how old are you, Toran?" Althea whispered, trying to distract herself from the stare she could feel burning through her back. Was her back so bad that he couldn't take his eyes off of the burns?  
"23. I'm supposed to take over the throne of the kingdom when I'm 25, or when my father dies, whichever is first."  
"I'm 20." Althea said, a small smile coming over her face. Toran acted so much older than he actually was.  
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Toran asked softly as he re-soaked the cloth and wrung it out again.  
"A younger brother, he's 13."  
"That' pretty young. I'm a single child, and other than my parents, the last Bengal tiger humanus."  
"Are you engaged to someone? For like… royal means?"  
Toran smiled, his green eyes flashing. "No, not yet. I don't think I could stand marrying someone that I didn't love. It doesn't seem right."  
"Yeah. What happens if you're the last one of your species though, like Naru?"  
Toran stayed silent for a minute, letting out a soft sigh. "I don't know. I guess look for someone from a similar species."  
"Have… a cat and a bird gotten together and had a kid? What happens?"  
"Their child either dies in the womb or shortly after birth. Fur and feathers don't mix."  
"But humanus and humans…"  
"Can always have children. After all, all humanus are half human."  
Silence came over them again, making Althea uneasy. From where she had felt Toran patting her back, she guessed about half of the skin was burned.  
"Does it still hurt a lot?" Toran asked, noticing her burns were still seeping blood.  
"Some, but it's better. Is Naru going to heal it again?"  
"Do you want me to get him now?" Toran took the cloth away from her back.  
"No, he's probably still busy. I can wait." Althea said quickly. She didn't want to say anything about it, but the cool water felt good against her hot skin. Toran continued to wash her burns, smiling when he heard a soft sigh of relief.  
He smirked and playfully squeezed the cloth so that the cold water ran down her back, making her shiver.  
"Toran?!" Althea sat rigid, looking at him as he laughed.  
"Just making sure you don't fall asleep." He chuckled.  
"I wasn't." Althea pouted, but smiled as well.  
They both looked up as a loud knock came from the door. Althea held the blanket higher on her shoulders as Toran moved slightly away from her, his face suddenly serious again.  
"Come in." Althea said, and was surprised to see Xicro walk into the room. His yellow eyes were red and swollen from crying.  
"Radica is put to rest. Would either of you like to say something to her? Althea, I can say it for you."  
"I-I never saw how she died. Just that she was on the ground." Althea said quietly, not liking to bring it up when Xicro still looked so hurt over her death.  
"She took an energy blast instead of me. It hit her on the chest and burned right through to her heart." Xicro's voice broke as he took a deep, shaky breath to calm down.  
"Xicro, maybe you should help Althea. I'll go see Radica. Take a break." Toran looked in concern to Xicro.  
Xicro nodded and Toran supported Althea's position as they switched spots so that Althea was now lying against Xicro's shoulder. Toran stood and handed Xicro the wet cloth.  
"Be gentle with her, she's still sore." Toran said, and made sure they were both alright before walking out of the room.  
"You got hurt pretty badly too." Xicro said in a voice raspy from use.  
"I'll be fine, Xicro. Naru's working on healing me and everyone's taking care of me. I'm more worried about you."  
Xicro choked and looked away, not able to look at her wide blue eyes. "I just never got to thank Radica for all she's done for me." He said softly.  
"Do you want to talk about it?" Althea said, looking away when she saw he was uncomfortable. Xicro let out a deep sigh, leaning forward to put his face against her shoulder, careful not to touch her burns.  
"I don't want you to think differently of me, Althea." He said, not phased at the feeling of her smooth skin beneath the fur of his cheek.  
"I promise I won't, Xicro. You look like you need to tell someone."  
"Alright. Swear to me you won't tell anyone- even Toran." Xicro sighed and shook his head. "Especially Toran."  
"I swear." Althea said solemnly.  
"Alright, then." Xicro took in a deep sigh. He shifted himself so that he could sit up comfortable to start washing Althea's back again. "Radica was the only one in the world who knew about me."


	11. Chapter 11

"It all started when I was about Toran's age. I was young, training as a guard for the kingdom."  
"Wait- how old are you? I thought you _were_ Toran's age."  
Xicro smiled softly. "No, you flatter me though. I'm 32 years old."  
Althea's eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded, wanting him to continue his story.  
"Radica was a lady of the court back then, and Toran was just a child. He liked to talk to me while I stood watch. I saw Radica pass one day, and she just smiled to me and continued walking." Xicro stopped for a minute, his voice breaking with emotion. "I was shocked. I had never seen anyone that confident before. I watched her pass me every day- it was the highlight of my day. I couldn't talk to her though, I was too shy. Toran was the one who helped me with that." Xicro chuckled at the memory. "Even though he was only 8 years old, he was already matured past his years. He introduced me to her, and we soon fell in love. But soon the event came that changed the kingdom."  
The humans had already been attacking our eastern humanus kingdom for a while, but by this time the front lines had weakened and the humans came to attack the Tora kingdom's capitol. When we were attacked, the king was wounded in battle and I was charged with leading Toran away from battle. He's never had a good sense of direction, and I had to make sure he didn't get lost while we fled. I saw Radica fighting, and was amazed to see how well she could handle herself in a fight. She came with us, and I brought Toran to my home by the library, several miles away. We were afraid he would be killed if we brought him back right away, so we kept him there for a few days, telling him stories. Eventually we brought him back, but those few days were enjoyable."  
"I knew you two seemed close." Althea smiled.  
"Close enough to be brothers." Xicro nodded.  
"So then you and Radica moved in together after things calmed down?"  
"Correct. We wanted to get married. However, it seemed to me something about our relationship felt… wrong."  
"Wrong?" Althea asked, confused.  
"Yes. Radica was a radiant lynx, but I felt no physical attraction toward her. It baffled her. I could not explain why, either."  
"Oh." Althea said knowingly, glancing back at him over her shoulder.  
"There are people like that in your world?"  
"Yeah, I had a friend just like you. It's not a big deal to me what your sexual preference is, you're still you." She said softly, with a smile.  
"That's exactly what Radica said. The marriage was called off, of course, but we stayed good friends."  
"But Toran and Radica didn't really recognize each other when we went to her house."  
"Toran was very young- he only met Radica for a few days. Toran is also a very proud humanus. He might have felt uncomfortable not seeing her for years, and so relied on etiquette to get him through the situation."  
Althea nodded. "What was Toran like when he was little?" she asked with a smile.  
"He was pretty isolated. He grew up as the only child in the castle. He was expected to be king at any moment, so everyone treated him like an adult rather than a child. He didn't really have a proper childhood."  
Althea looked away, sad to hear that Toran's childhood had been so difficult. Was that why he was so uptight all the time?  
Another knock on the closed door made Althea jump in surprise, and sigh in discontent. She had wanted to ask Xicro more about Toran's childhood.  
"If Althea's awake, then I can heal her back again." Naru said through the door.  
"That's not a bad idea. I think Toran and I have washed your back very thoroughly." Xicro said, setting the cloth in the bowl of water as he shifted away from her.  
"Alright Naru, you can come in." Althea called out, and Naru opened the door, closing it behind him. He turned and saw Althea's bare back and the blanket around her bare chest and stood rigid, his eyes wide.  
"D-did I interrupt something? I-I'm sorry!" he said, and started to open the door again. Xicro laughed and stood, supporting Althea until she turned so she could sit up on her own.  
"Calm down boy, it's not like she's completely naked. Get over here." Xicro held Althea's shoulder softly for support as Naru gulped uneasily and walked stiffly toward Althea. He looked at the spot Xicro had been sitting and looked to Althea, his cheeks turning slightly pink through his blue down feathers.  
"How should I sit there?" He muttered.  
"Unfurl your tail for a bit, sit, and let it go down again. That way you won't squish it." Althea suggested. Naru nodded and let his tail raise against his back, nearly knocking Xicro off his feet from the extra space it took up. He sat in the space, sitting cross legged so that his talons wouldn't scrape against Althea's back. He let his tail go down again, the feathers draping past the mattress and onto the wooden floor behind the bed. Xicro smiled slightly and watched Naru's wide eyes at the burns in front of him.  
"You've got some work to do- just be careful. Don't touch the burns." Xicro said, and walked out of the room with an amused expression.  
"I see he's feeling much better. Did you have a talk with him?" Naru glanced back at Xicro before holding his hands over Althea's shoulders, a golden glow forming around his hands as he started his healing.  
"Yeah, he just needed someone to talk to, I think. He still has to heal from her death, but I think he'll be okay." Althea sighed at the relief on her shoulders the healing brought, the soreness and heat suddenly fading.  
Naru nodded, concentrating on a particularly deep burn over her shoulder blade. Why did humans always seem to aim for that area? He clenched his teeth in anger at the man who had done this to Althea, but said nothing.  
"So what were you talking to Sox about? I heard you were chatting for quite a while." Althea said, hating the silence that people started when they saw her burns.  
"Ah, he was holding a bit of a grudge against humans from his experience in the dungeon. I explained to him that not all humans are evil by nature, and that like humanus, you need to know them before judging them." Naru smiled and shook his head as a few of his blue and green feathered hair got in his eyes as he continued working.  
Althea nodded in agreement, smiling back at the abnormal humanoid behind her. Just a few days ago she probably would have screamed when she saw him- just like she had when she first saw Toran, but now she was finally getting used to the idea of animal humanoids like the humanus.  
"I would think you'd be more angry at humans." Althea said, remembering how Naru's wings had been ripped off, leaving only jagged bone and a few brown feathers.  
Naru sighed deeply and slouched, shaking his head. "No, there are only some humans who are evil like that." He looked up in confusion as Althea giggled, arching her back. "What's wrong?"  
"Your hair." Althea giggled again as Naru's feather hair ran against her shoulders.  
Naru grinned and shook his head so that the feathers on his head ran along her shoulders, making her laugh. He chuckled and leaned back again, continuing to heal her back, running his palms over the worse of her burns on her shoulder blades.  
"So Naru, since I'm asking everyone, how old are you?" Althea smiled after calming down.  
"Ah, I'm not exactly sure." Naru said thoughtfully. "I was in that dungeon for a long while, and I'm not sure how much time passed by."  
"Oh. Well, do you have a guess?"  
"I'd say probably 19 or 20. Why?" Naru leaned forward again to see her face.  
"You're my age then." Althea smiled.  
Naru smiled back, knowing that she couldn't see his expression now that he had leaned back again. He took his palms away from the area of her burns and sighed. His head was starting to throb, and that was always the first sign that he was using too much energy.  
"I'm going to have to stop for today. Does it feel any better?" Naru leaned back, careful not to squish his tail feathers.  
"Much better, thanks Naru." Althea said, sighing as she flexed her shoulders and her back only ached slightly.  
"No problem. Get some sleep now, and we'll talk later. I need rest too." Naru stood up, stretching his arms, unfurling his tail and shaking it to rustle the debris from his feathers.  
Althea nodded and watched Naru as he stood and walked out. She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself, thankful that her burns were healed enough for her to comfortably lie on her side. She sighed happily and fell into a deep sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Naru closed the door softly behind himself, careful to avoid shutting his tail feathers in the door. He turned around to see Toran leaning against the opposite wall, looking up at him with a stern expression.  
"Is she doing better?" Toran asked, keeping his eyes on Naru.  
"She won't bleed anymore. She should be more able to walk now." Naru said, his tail feathers shaking once as he anxiously glanced at Toran.  
"Good, we should start traveling again. We have a lot of ground to cover." Toran stood, looking away from Naru, and to the door behind him.  
"Where are we going, anyway?" Naru asked, his voice low.  
"East, past the ocean."  
Naru froze, his eyes widening in fear. "You must be joking. We'll all die if we go there."  
"We won't die. We must find a way to the Okami kingdom. We have to unite the kingdoms against the humans."  
"But to get there we have to go through human country!"  
"Do you want them to win?" Toran snapped, his fangs bared impatiently.  
"Of course not." Naru growled, his tail fanning up behind him angrily.  
"Then we'll have to risk the danger. I'm not letting our race just lie down and die. We have to fight back as much as we can, as hard as we can. There's no other option."  
Naru stared at Toran for a minute before he smiled painfully, his tail lowering once more behind him. "You're the prince. Just don't you dare get her hurt. If you do, I'll make human magic look like child's play." Naru hissed, his hands glowing a soft golden light. Toran looked at him warily before nodding his head in agreement.  
"Is she sleeping?" Toran asked, his voice softer.  
"Yes, let her sleep. She needs the rest. Tomorrow I'll start teaching her magic so she can better defend herself."  
"You can do that?" Toran raised an eyebrow skeptically.  
"If she has any magic in her, yes." Naru shrugged and walked past Toran. "Get her back to her own world. I can't stand the pain she's trying to hide. She's homesick."  
Toran looked at the door to Althea's room, his tail slashing the air behind him anxiously. He had never been good at judging how people felt, or how to react to emotions. How could naru see something like that, but he couldn't? Toran snorted in annoyance and walked to his room to get some much deserved sleep.

"You want to teach me magic? I already told you I can't do magic." Althea said to Naru, looking over at him as he sat in the chair beside her bed.  
"We'll see. Toran wants to get moving again, and you should be able to defend yourself."  
"Alright, I'll try." Althea sighed in submission. "Can you at least get me a short or something? I only have bandages on under this blanket." She blushed, holding the blanket closer to her front.  
"Sure. I'll ask around for some clothes." Naru smiled and walked out of the room, glancing back as Toran walked in.  
"Are you feeling better?" he asked, sitting on the bed beside her, leaving the chair empty.  
"Yeah, I think I can stand now. I just don't have any clothes to wear. I ruined Radica's dress."  
"Don't worry about the dress. Here-" Toran took off his tunic, handing it to her. "You can wer this for now if you're really uncomfortable."  
"Thanks." Althea said. She sighed in relief when Toran turned around to let her put on the shirt. She quickly slipped it on, smiling when she saw her arms were far too short for the sleeves. She tapped Toran on the shoulder, telling him it was alright to turn around. He smirked when he saw the ends of the sleeves hanging over her hands.  
"Hey- your chest is even more fuzzy." Althea smiled, pointing to the longer white fur that covered Toran's chest.  
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess. I never really noticed." Toran shrugged.  
"Is it fur, or hair? I wonder if your hair is actually longer fur?" Althea said thoughtfully.  
"I don't know. Is there a difference?"  
"Yeah, there is. See my hair? It's finer than fur is." Althea grabbed a lock of her hair as an example, and put her palm against Toran's chest, running her fingers through the white dur.  
"Definitely fur." Althea said matter-of-factly.  
Toran froze from the contact as the fur on his tail and the back of his neck stood on end, a shiver running up his spine. He grabbed her wrist, taking her hand away from his chest. "Enough thinking for today. Wasn't Naru going to teach you magic? Where did that bird go?"  
"He's finding some clothes for me to have. I can't keep your shirt forever."  
"That's a good idea. You're healing a lot faster than I thought you would." Toran smiled, but looked toward the door as he heard his name being called.  
"Toran, the elder wants to talk with you. Something about one of the older villagers' news." Xicro said, looking into the room. He saw Toran's shirt on Althea and chuckled.  
"Might want to get dressed first." He laughed and disappeared from the doorway.  
Toran flushed and looked to Althea. "Keep that one for now. I'll borrow one from Tobias while he's back." Toran stood and walked out, glancing to Althea one last time before leaving the room.  
Althea sighed and laid back in her bed again, glancing out the window of the small room she had been stuck in for nearly a week now.  
She wondered what her family was doing without her. Surely by now they knew she was missing, and not just spending the night at a friend's house. How would she explain all this when she got back?  
She looked over to her backpack, which Toran had carried into the room or her when she had gotten hurt. She thought over the contents, smiling happily when she remembered her old Polaroid camera she had brought with her. There was only enough film for one round of pictures, but that would have to do.  
Naru walked back into the room, holding a pair of clothes under one arm as he closed the door behind him.  
"I finally got some. Did you know there are flamingo humanus here? Weird folk." Naru said, setting the clothes on the bed beside her and turning around, unfurling his tail for extra privacy. Althea changed into the new clothes, taking off Toran's green tunic and putting on the baggy black shirt and brown pants, groaning as she stretched out her legs.  
"Alright." She said ,and Naru lowered his tail and turned around. He spotted the green shirt she had been wearing with a frown.  
"Where did you get that?" he pointed to the shirt.  
"Toran let me borrow it." Althea shrugged.  
"I see. Well, how are you feeling today?" Naru said, glancing at the shirt one last time before looking to Althea.  
"Better. Do you think you could help me up? I want to go get my bad."  
"Sure." Naru held out his hands for support as Althea tried to stand, but wobbled and fell forward into Naru's chest.  
"Good thing you were there." Althea laughed and regained her balance after not walking for a week. Naru chuckled in agreement. She walked forward, getting more confident with each step she took. She took the bag into her hands and walked back over to the bed, sitting and patting the mattress beside her in invitation to Naru.  
She spilled the contents into the mattress between them, smiling when Naru's eyes widened in surprise.  
"What's this? Are these all from your world?" Naru held the small plastic brick in his hands, surprising himself when the top flipped up, revealing buttons.  
"Yeah, that's a cell phone. Ah- finally!" Althea cheered as she picked up her sketchbook out of the pile. She opened it to a page with an unfinished picture, and sighed in relief when she saw no damage.  
"You're an artist?" Naru said as Althea handed the sketchbook to him. She nodded and moved aside her ipod t pick up the large Polaroid camera.  
"Make a pretty pose!" She said, pointing the machine at Naru.  
"What?" He said in confusion, but smiled anyway. A bright flash shone, and Naru flinched, backing up in surprise. The film came out of the camera, and Naru moved back toward Althea curiously.  
He watched in amazement as his image came into focus, of him smiling just he had just been doing a moment ago.  
"How does it do that? Did it catch that moment in time? Does it hurt me at all?"  
Althea snickered and set the camera down. "I don't know how it really works, and yes I guess you could say if caught that moment in a picture, no it doesn't hurt you at all." She smiled at all his questions. "I'll show you the other things in here too, but for now I want to get out of this room. I'm so sick of his bed." Althea scooped all the contents lying on the bed back into the bag, zippering the pouch shut and setting it in the corner where it had previously been.  
"Good idea. Everyone's probably worried sick about you at this point. They'll all be happy to see you've recovered." Naru stood, waiting by the door for Althea.  
They both left the room, Naru glancing longingly over at the bag and it's contents before leaving the room.


	13. Chapter 13

"You saw _what?_" An angry voice said from inside the stone in Sei's hand. Rain looked over her brother's shoulder at the dark eyes in the stone, the area around the queen's image darkened to the point where she was seemingly a part of the area around her.

"A human girl was traveling with the humanus, as well as a peacock humanus that seemed to escape our attack on their species. We were caught by surprise, but it will not happen again." Rain replied. Sei nodded in agreement, and bowed his head in apology.  
"We will deal with these to obstacles with priority. They must not have human allies. Any human who is an ally with those wretches is also our enemy. Do not hesitate to kill her."  
"Very well, your majesty." Sei bowed his head obediently, but knew already that the girl must be killed.  
"One more thing, your highness. The girl had something attached to her belt- a broken mirror that looked much like the king's whole one." Rain added, much to Sei's surprise. Usually his sister told him everything she saw, but figured she had just forgotten to tell him about that detail.  
"So, it seems the girl came from another world, then? Maybe she is just confused about the situation. Perhaps you should just bring her to me so that I may sort things out. Thank you for your hard work." The queen nodded her head politely, causing Sei and Rain to bow lower in response. The crystal in Sei's hand faded to its natural smoky color, and he put it back into the pouch at his waist with the other stones.  
"Bringing her alive will be much harder than dead. Hope I did not give her a fatal blow when I shot her back." Sei said, his voice carrying an edge of nervousness.  
"We should go and see- if the need arises, I can heal her wound quickly. I am fully recovered, so perhaps we should head back to the village and hope she does not have an infection."  
"We will have to be discrete." Sei said, standing and kicking dirt on the fire between them to start on the journey back to the avian village.

"Today's the day!" Naru smiled to Althea as she sat up in her bed and stretched with a yawn. The last few days had been a series of final healings to lessen the scars, as well as mingling with the bird humanus in the village. Umou and his group came back from another scouting trip, with news that the couple who had attacked them was making their way back to the village. Tobias estimated that they had a few days until the humans reached them, given their current speed and distance.  
That left less time than Naru would have liked to teach Althea basic magic. But first things first- to determine whether Althea actually _had_ magic at all.  
"Meet me outside, alright? We'll determine whether or not I can teach you, first." Naru said as Althea stumbled drowsily out of bed. He was answered with a low grunt and chuckled as he waited for her outside in the main street of the avian village. He watched all the different birds walk by, ignoring their stares. All different colors paraded in the streets- Flamingos, Sparrows, Ravens, and countless others.  
But one caught his eye more than the others- a beautiful snowy owl humanus, her white feathered hair cascading down her shoulders. Her body was covered in thousands of crescent-shaped spots, and the feathers that made of her hair had tips of black to match the pattern. She looked to him and smiled, her yellow eyes shocking him. He blinked and stared for a minute before finally realizing what he was doing. He heard her amused laughter as she continued to walk on, and looked in the direction she had disappeared to, his green eyes wide and bright.  
"Hey Naru, are you okay?"  
"Huh?" Naru looked down to see Althea looking up at him in concern. He cleared his throat to help clear his mind, as Althea looked in the direction he had been staring at. She saw the Snowy owl and grinned slyly, but said nothing.  
"You said you wanted to meet me out here to teach me magic. Did you still want to, or do you want me to leave you to ogle?"  
Naru blushed under his blue feathers, shifting from foot to foot uneasily at being caught. "No, I'm just not used to pretty girls yet." He froze, looking down at her with wide eyes. "Not that you're not pretty- you're very pretty, it's just that Xicro said earlier…and… and… Dangit." Naru slumped his shoulders, looking down at Althea with a wince, knowing she would get mad at him.  
Althea only chuckled and smiled softly. "I understand. Now- how are we going to tell whether I have magic or not?"  
Naru sighed with relief when she didn't get angry with him, and looked around for a clear spot to practice. He led Althea over to a different part of the village, one not so crowded with humanus.  
"Alright, first, I want you to relax. If you do this while you're tense, you'll wind up blowing someone up." Naru put his hands on her shoulders, making them slump so she could relax.  
"Don't' want that." Althea said sarcastically, and let in a deep breath, exhaling slowly.  
"Now- I want you to close your eyes, and empty your mind as best you can- picture a black expanse, and no light. Nothing." Naru watched with interest as Althea let out a small sigh, closed her eyes and let all thoughts flow out of her mind.  
"Now, this will sound odd, look inside yourself as far as you can. Look if you can see anything through the darkness."  
"I see… something…" Althea squinted her eyes as she tried to focus better in her mind what she was seeing  
"Really? Alright, when you can see it, I'll know. Just try and concentrate." Naru watched her anxiously as Althea's eyebrows furrowed, focusing as hard as she could on that small speck of light. It eventually grew larger and brighter, a bright teal color that seemed to take over everything in her mind.  
"That's it!" Naru cheered, seeing Althea's body glow a bright teal color. "You do have magic- I told you, now we can start your lessons on how to control it."  
Althea opened her eyes in surprise, looking down to see a faint glow fade from her hands. "Wait, how on earth can that be possible? No one on my planet can do magic."  
"Maybe they just don't know how. Now tell me- how bright was the light? Was it a little sparkle, or was it a soft glow?" Naru said in interest, smiling at Althea's disbelieving expression.  
"Neither- it was like I was standing in a room of only light. Why?"  
Naru raise an eyebrow curiously. "I've never heard of that before. Oh well, we'll deal with it later. For now, we'll start getting you used to controlling your magic. First off, creating light…"

Sora looked over to Tobias as they flew above the forest, searching for the two humans. Umou had sent only them out in an effort to keep the humans from knowing they were being tracked. Tobias nodded to Sora confidently, swooping down lower to get a better view of the spaces between trees. He spotted the human and bared his teeth angrily, but flew back up to meet with Sora.  
"They're down there alright, and still heading in the same direction. Why do you think they're heading back to the place they retreated from?" Tobias looked down at the area the humans were walking in confusion  
"Perhaps to finish the job? How am I supposed to know what humans think?" Sora rolled her eyes, swooping down to get a better look.

Tobias followed, folding his wings to dive down after Sora. She searched the trees, starting to worry when she couldn't see the humans anymore.  
"Didn't you say they were down here?" Sora shouted to Tobias, knowing he would have a hard time hearing her past the rushing wind.  
"They were a second ago." Tobias yelled back. He watched in horror as Sora narrowly dodged a blast of red energy, and looked down at the ground in fury.  
"Pull up!" Sora yelled, avoiding another blast, forced to dive lower than she had intended.  
"Sora, I'm not leaving you!" Tobias shouted, diving next to her. He saw the human below, but knew a frontal attack would be suicide at this point.  
"Damn you Tobias, get higher!" Sora bared her teeth in anger as her wing got clipped on a tree branch while she was distracted. She fell into the canopy with a loud cry of surprise, crashing into the branches below her. She froze as the man who they had been tracking looked up at her with a wry smile.  
"Look Rain, a little birdie's been tracking us. What should we do with her?" Sei looked over to his sister.  
"I think we should ask her about the human we saw. Perhaps she knows her."  
Sora swore under her breath at her situation, scrambling to sit up on the branch she had landed on, her talons gripping into the wood for support. She stayed silent at the human's question, her eyes blazing down at the couple. Assessing the damage to herself from the fall- a few bent feathers, but nothing vital- she glanced up to see Tobias diving into the canopy behind the humans, making as little noise as possible.  
"Sorry to disappoint, but you're not getting anything out of me." Sora sneered.  
Tobias let out a yell as flew past the two humans, knocking them to the ground with his large, curved talons. He flapped quickly up to Sora, grabbing her by the waist and flying above the canopy, back toward the village.  
"Are you okay? They didn't blast you again, did they?" Tobias looked Sora over for any damage as she squirmed in his grip.  
"Let me go, you big lummox! I'm fine. Just a little singed." Sora said in annoyance. Tobias nodded and let her go, watching as she fell a few yards before opening her wings and rising back next to him. "Well, at least now we know what they're going back for. We should warn Umou." Sora glanced back at the spot the humans had been in the forest, and looked ahead of her to the village, flapping her wings to go as quickly as she could back to the general.


	14. Chapter 14

"They're after Althea? Why on earth would they want her?" Toran looked at Tobias in confusion after the news.  
"I have no idea. They did want to ask about her. When they saw Sora they thought maybe we knew Althea and could tell them something about her." Tobias shrugged.  
Toran looked at the ground thoughtfully, trying to figure out why these humans would want to get their hands on Althea. They had already tried to kill her once- were they coming back to make sure she was dead?  
"I'm thinking they saw something they wanted to come back and investigate. Otherwise why would they risk themselves so much?" Sora said, trying to figure out the situation as well.  
"That makes sense. Do you know of anything they might have seen, Toran?" Tobias looked at Toran, whose eyes widened in realization.  
"The mirror!" Toran said, and smiled up to Sora and Tobias. "Thanks for your work guys- I have to talk with Althea."  
"No problem." Sora said in confusion, and looked to Tobias, who only shrugged in response.  
"Althea! We have to get moving quickly- the humans know where you're from and-" Toran skidded to a stop in front of her room, looking at the strange blue glow coming from within. It couldn't be magic by Naru, his magic was golden. She should be in there alone, unless a human had already found her…  
"Althea?" Toran opened the door with a bang, running into the room to see Althea holding a teal sphere of light between her hands, her face etched into an expression of concentration. He blinked in shock for a minute before smiling. She did have magic, after all.  
"Toran? What's wrong?" Althea looked up at Toran, the sphere between her hands fading.  
"Those two humans from earlier- they know where you're from, and they're on their way back. They tried to ask Sora about you." Toran said calmly.  
"Why would they want me? What's the big deal that I'm from another world?" Althea said nervously, the light between her hands suddenly vanishing.  
"I have no idea why they would want to talk to you. Either way, they'll try to take you into the human kingdom. I think we should get going before they have the chance."  
"Good idea." Althea stood, quickly walking over to her bag. She made sure everything was secure before hoisting it over her shoulder, looking to Toran expectedly. He nodded and ran out of the room to get everyone else ready to leave as well.  
"Your majesty, I insist that we follow you by air on your journey. There's no telling what challenges you may face that we may assist you in." Umou said, his voice as calm as usual.  
Toran nodded, and let out a soft sigh. "I agree with you, Umou. There's no telling what we may run into along the way, so you and your squad can come along. However, I will request that you ask whether your men will want to go on this mission. You know how risky it can be to have a soldier who doesn't want to fight with all of his spirit."  
"Very well, your majesty. I think I already know the answers of most of my men, but I will do as you request." Umou nodded, walking back over to the squad of bird humanus.  
Naru walked over to Toran, his face serious. "I hope you know what you're doing. I'm coming with you, to keep training Althea so she's safe if she ever gets cornered."  
"I hope I do too." Toran said grimly, making Naru's frown deepen.  
"Why is everyone so glum? Cheer up, guys!" Althea smiled, wrapping her arms around Toran and Naru's shoulders. Toran looked at her in surprise as Naru smiled, his expression slightly concerned.  
"We're just talking Althea, no need to worry." Toran smiled back, and glanced to Naru before standing his full height, and turning to the crowd of humanus behind him.  
"We will head east." Toran said proudly as Althea's arm fell off his shoulder. "This journey will be dangerous, but it is the first communication between the Tora and Okami kingdoms since the creation of our kind. We will join forces against those who try to repress us, and stand proudly as the humanus species. Are we ready?" Toran looked around the crowd gathered in front of him as they cheered in unison. He smiled in satisfaction as the bird humanus who had decided to leave the village cried out from above.  
"Alright then- to the Okami kingdom!" Toran pointed south, making Xicro chuckle. The panther reached up and turned his arms so that he pointed east. Toran blushed and cleared his throat uneasily, talking forward in that direction.  
Althea and Naru both laughed as Umou, Sora and Tobias jumped into the air to follow from above.

Toran looked up at the setting sun across the horizon, and held up a hand to motion to the others to stop. "We've traveled a long distance, so we'll camp here for tonight." Toran called out to everyone, and the bird humanus landed in the distance, gathering in a large field.  
Umou landed beside Toran, the impact from his landing nearly knocking Althea off her feet. "I will take the first watch, your highness." Umou said, nodding his head properly.  
"Alright, then I'll take secnd and Xicro will take third." Toran glanced to Xicro for his approval, and was satisfied with a nod.  
"Very well." Umou said, and the large eagle walked back over to the others to supervise them making the camp.  
Althea set down her backpack on the ground, rubbing her aching shoulders with a soft sigh of relief.  
"Here, Althea." Naru handed Althea a green wool blanket. "You can take this for tonight. It's going to be cold tonight."  
"But then you'll be cold too." Althea said uneasily.  
"You don't have fur or feathers. I'll be fine." Naru set the blanket insistently in one of her hands.  
"Alright, I guess." Althea said, looking down at her feet uneasily. "How's your back doing? It's been a while since I last checked it."  
"I don't know." Naru said, trying to look over his shoulder, but saw nothing but blue feathers.  
"Here- turn around." Althea said, and avoided his tail feathers as he turned, revealing a scabbed over wound, healing quickly. The remaining bones from where they had snapped off his wings like branches still jutted out from his shoulder blades. Small brown feathers poked through some of the area.  
"Hey Naru- were your wings brown?" Althea asked curiously.  
"Yes, why?" Naru looked over his shoulder at her.  
"You still have a few brown feathers left." Althea said with a smile as Naru sighed in relief.  
"At least there are traces of the fact I had wings, then." He smiled, and looked over to the other bird humanus. "I should go help them. I don't think sleeping by the fire would be a good idea with my tail, so I'll sleep with the other birds."  
"Birds of a feather stick together." Althea giggled, not able to help herself.  
"Is that from your world?" Naru looked at her in surprise and after a moment of thinking smiled. "I think I like that. Well, good night for now, Althea."  
"Good night, Naru." Althea waved as he walked toward the field, his long feather train dragging behind him.  
Althea looked down at the blanket in her hands and walked over to the fire Xicro was busy making. She unfurled the blanket down on the ground a few feet from the growing flames. She sat down on the blanket, a yawn making her stretch her aching legs and feet. She wasn't used to walking so many miles in a day, but knew she would have to get used to traveling those distances. She watched Xicro for a while, only able to see his back and his constantly swishing tail as he kneeled to light the wood.  
"Good night, Xicro." Althea said, and rolled onto her other side.  
Xicro looked up in surprise and smiled at her. "Good night, sweetie. I'll see you tomorrow."  
Althea sighed in comfort and quickly fell asleep.  
Toran returned from his shift, exhausted from constantly patrolling. Xicro waited for him, a grin covering his face.  
"Althea's dreaming about you." Xicro chuckled, switching places to Toran so that he would start his first patrol around the camp.  
"What, why?" Toran looked at Althea in the distance, not able to see her well.  
"I don't know, but when I woke up she was saying 'Toran, no!" Xicro said dramatically, fluttering his eyelashes mockingly.  
Toran blushed and crossed his arms. "It's just a dream." He mutterd, but his blush only deepened.  
"Whatever you say, princey." Xicro laughed, and slapped Toran on the back with a laugh. "Just get some sleep for now, and worry about that stuff later."  
Toran glared at Xicro's use of his childhood nickname 'princey'. He sighed and walked slowly over to the fire, looking down at Althea uneasily.  
She was curled into a tight ball, her expression one of terror. He watched as the air around her shimmered silver, as if she was glowing softly. Wasn't her magic blue, though? Toran kneeled next to her, turning concerned when she let out a soft whimper and tightened her curled position, as if in defense.  
"Hey- Althea, wake up." Toran said, not liking to see her so scared. She stirred and the glow faded as she opened her eyes slowly.  
She spotted Toran and let out a quick gasp of fear before scrambling into a sitting position and scooting away from him. "Please don't hurt me." She whispered, her voice quivering. Toran loked at her in confusion, his ears flipped back against his head.  
"Why would I hurt you? What's wrong?" Toran reached toward her, but stopped when she scrambled away again.  
"You guys eat humans! All you want to do is hurt me." Althea said, her wide eyes filling with tears.  
"Eat humans? Sick. I would never do that. Where did you get that idea from?" Toran cringed at the thought of something so disgusting.  
"I… I don't know." Althea whispered, suddenly looking confused. "So you don't eat humans?"  
"Hell no, I'd never to something like that. The insectus, maybe, but not anyone around here."  
Althea relaxed, but still looked fearful. Toran sighed and walked quickly over to her, kneeling and grabbing her shoulders so she couldn't run away again.  
"You had a bad dream. I don't know what you heard in that nightmare, but none of it's true." He looked down at her expression as it crumbled, her eyes overflowing with tears. She chocked and fell against his chest, crying softly against his green tunic.  
"I'm so scared, so confused. How can I even think of horrible things like that?" She whispered, her voice filled with pain.  
"You're fine. I said I'd protect you, right? I still mean to. There's no reason to be so scared." Toran wrapped his arms around her uneasily, holding her to him gently. "And just because I have fangs, doesn't mean I'm going to bite you." He said soothingly, setting his chin on top of her head as she let out another soft sob. Toran suddenly remembered the silver glow around her earlier, and reminded himself to ask Naru about it later on. Did it mean Althea's dream was sent to her by someone else? If it was true, it seemed that person wanted her to be scared of him for whatever reason. Toran bared his teeth into the darkness of the night around him, wondering who would want to do terrify her so much. He tightened his arms around her, wanting to protect her more now than ever before.  
"Are you going to be okay?" He looked down at her in concern as she stopped crying, leaning away from him shyly.  
"Y-yeah." She said, her voice raspy. "I'm sorry I cried like that, I don't know what I was thinking." She looked up at him meekly.  
"You're okay." Toran smiled, and stood up, still holding her in his arms. She squeaked in surprise as he carried her back over to her rumpled blanket, setting her down gently on top of it.  
"Toran?" Althea said softly as he started to walk away.  
"Yeah?" He looked back at her curiously.  
"D-do you think you could wake me up if I have another dream like that?" she asked, looking at the ground shyly.  
Toran smiled and sat on the ground a few feet from her so that he would hear her. "No problem. Just get some rest, and we'll keep traveling tomorrow." He said, making sure she was asleep before he laid down himself, staring up at the stars above him. He wondered if any of those stars had Althea's world in them as he fell asleep, a low growling snore sounding from his throat.

**Thank you everyone on your support for the story thus far! 3 For the next chapter, post in a review what your favorite couple is. :3 Your feedback MAY affect the outcome of the story!**

-Caroline L'Amoure


	15. Chapter 15

Toran woke with a grunt, feeling a sharp pressure on his chest. He looked up to see Naru's clawed foot on his chest, staring down at him with his expression fuming.  
"What are you doing?" Naru hissed. His feathers were standing on end, his unfurled tail shaking with anger behind him.  
"Well, I was sleeping." Toran growled, but looked down when something pulled at his arm as he sat up. He froze, seeing Althea clinging to his arm in her sleep, grumbling slightly in discontent as he moved. He looked back up at Naru, his expression turning panicked.  
"She had a nightmare last night, I swear!" Toran said nervously, trying to free his arm from her grip, but only shaking her and making her grumble angrily. Toran growled in frustration and used his other arm to free himself, sighing in relief.  
"A nightmare huh?" Naru looked down at Toran skeptically then shook his head in disgust. "Whatever. Just be careful around her."  
Toran looked down at Althea as she sighed and rolled over in her sleep, now hugging Naru's blanket instead of Toran's arm. "It looks like she's dreaming again."  
"Probably. What did she have a nightmare about?" Naru said curiously.  
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. Sit down." Toran motioned to the ground and Naru raised an eyebrow in confusion before sitting on the ground in front of Toran.  
"Can someone with magic send visions to someone who's asleep?" Toran glanced to Althea, making sure she was asleep before continuing. "I think someone was trying to turn Althea against us."  
"Yes, they can if that's their chosen field of study. It takes a lot of work to be able to do that. Why, what did she say?"  
"She said she had a dream that the humanus were eating humans, and she was terrified when she woke up. So scared she would move away whenever I went toward her."  
"That is rather scary, though. She still doesn't know much about our kind yet. I'm dreading when she sees the Insectus. She'll probably be horrified." Naru suppressed a shiver, not liking the Insectus either.  
"Yeah, we'll really have to watch her around them. But anyway- her whole body was glowing silver."  
"Definitely magic, then. Though there's only a few people who know about her enough to even attempt something like that; those two humans from earlier."  
"You can't do it if you don't know the person?" Toran said with curiosity.  
"Yeah, it'd be like trying to call out to someone when you don't know their name." Naru shrugged. "So it must be that those two are trying to get her to separate from the group. They must be getting desperate to try something like that though, it takes a lot of energy."  
"This magic stuff is confusing." Toran shook his head, and looked at Naru, "how the hell do you remember it all?"  
"I grew up around it." Naru shrugged, and looked up at the rising sun in the distance. "It's getting pretty light out. Did you want to get going?"  
Toran looked up at the sun as well and nodded. "Yeah, let's get as much distance between us and those humans as possible."  
"Yeah, toward more humans." Naru grumbled, but stood and walked off toward the other humanus to get everyone going. Toran glared at Naru as he walked away and turned toward Althea, who was back sound asleep again.  
"Hey Althea, wake up." Toran shook her, trying to wake her up as she snored into Naru's blanket.  
"Althea!" He yelled, making her eyes shoot open in shock.  
"Abraham Lincoln!" She yelled wildly as she sat up quickly, looking around her in confusion. She remembered where she was and ran a hand down her face in frustration.  
"What the hell is a Lincoln?" Toran looked at her in confusion as she yawned drowsily.  
"Oh, I just had a dream that I was in class and I didn't know the answer. No big deal." She whispered, looking around her with half closed eyes.  
Toran shook his head in dismay and stood up, holding a hand out to her to help her up. "Come on, the sun's risen, we should get going. The faster we move, the further we get from the humans following us." Toran said but when he let Althea go she swayed a little bit before catching her balance again.  
"I'm fine. I'm not used to getting up this early." She grumbled and stumbled forward, her expression a scowl. Toran chuckled in amusement and went to make sure the others were awake to start today's traveling.  
"I think we lost them." Sora glided to the ground near Umou and Toran, smiling in satisfaction after a successful scouting mission.  
"It's about time." Toran grumbled, annoyed that the humans had followed their every move since that morning. They had been walking for well over five hours with minimal breaks. His feet were starting to ache.  
Althea sighed as she stumbled forward, her feet hurting to the point where each step forward was like stepping on knives. She let out a small whimper of pain, catching Naru's attention.  
"Are you alright?" Naru looked at Althea's flushed cheeks in concern.  
"My feet hurt." Althea said in a small voice, nearly stumbling as her balance momentarily gave way. Naru caught her and sighed, hooking a hand under her legs to pick her up in his arms.  
"I'll carry you for a while. I don't think humans are built to walk for so long." Naru looked down at Althea as she tried to curl into herself in embarrassment.  
"What, you don't like being carried?" The peacock humanus grinned.  
"I've never been carried before." She said in a shy voice, crossing her legs nervously as Naru laughed.  
"Really? Well, I'll carry you for as long as I can. That way you can give your small feet a break. I don't know how you manage to stand on feet like that." Naru looked down at her small moccasins thoughtfully.  
"The same way you guys balance on your toes like you do." Althea smiled as Toran looked back at them curiously, but returned to his conversation with Umou.  
Naru smirked and looked down at Althea again. "Remember what you said when I told you to search for your magic abilities? Tell me what you saw again."  
"You said to look for a light- everything turned blue when I did that."  
"Ah, I remember now. Do you know what that means, Althea?" Naru grinned eagerly.  
"No, what?" Althea said apprehensively, confused by his sudden eagerness.  
"You have more power than even me. I can teach you a lot more than I thought I could. Some of it will be hard to master though, but the results will be worth it. Particularly one spell I think you'll like a lot while you're in Sanrou."  
"Alright, I guess so- just as long as I don't hurt anyone, okay?" Althea said uneasily, still not used to the fact that she had any magical abilities.  
"Alright, are you ready, then?" Naru said later that day in a field, standing beside Althea. She looked at him uneasily and glanced at the small log, upturned on its side across the field from them.  
"Are you sure this is okay? What if I set the grass on fire?" Althea looked at the dry grass at her feet, noticing that it was yellow from lack of water.  
"It's no problem. Magic isn't like fire. Now focus your energy toward that log over there. Build it in your hand like we talked about, and then shoot it at the log. That's the most basic magic ability you can have. Once you're good at that, we'll move onto more complex abilities.  
Althea bit her lip nervously and held her hand up like she had seen Naru do when he had fired at the humans a few days ago. She concentrated and slowly her hand started glowing a bright, fierce blue.  
"Um…" Naru backed up a few steps from Althea with wide eyes as the large blast of energy shot from her hand and toward the log across the field with a massive flash of light. Althea opened her eyes and squeaked in surprise when she saw a crater in place of the log.  
"Okay then, I think you're good with making the energy blasts. Now you have to learn how to control them." Naru chuckled, walking back toward her again. Althea blushed and nodded, moving a lock of brown hair from her eyes.  
"Now… um… try not to put so much energy into your palm, and try again. Aim at the crater, I guess." Naru said, backing up a few steps again just to be safe. Althea sighed uneasily and braced herself again, her hand glowing a soft blue. She let the blast go and heard Naru laugh as he walked closer to her.  
"Try somewhere between there. That wouldn't hurt a dragonfly." He smiled in amusement, ruffling Althea's hair playfully when she blushed again.  
"Okay, okay! I haven't tried this before." Althea complained as she smoothed down her hair with a pout.  
"You're doing very well for your first time, Althea. I wasn't even able to do a little burst when I first tried. You have a lot more magic at your disposal than I do."  
"Really? I thought you had a lot." Althea looked at Naru curiously, who only shrugged.  
"Not really, just the fact that I'm the only humanus with magic usually puts me at the top of the ladder. You have a lot more magic in you than I ever could. You can do a lot of things I only know of, but can't do."  
Althea nodded, not quite sure what to say in response.  
"Alright, how are you feeling, then?" Naru said to break the silence that had suddenly risen.  
"Pretty tired, actually." Althea said thoughtfully, wondering why she was so tired other than her feet aching from walking for so long that day.  
"That's what happens when you use a lot of magic at one time. Use too much, and you'll pass out." Naru said, looking over at Toran as he finished making the camp. "Alright, how about we get some rest for today? I don't want to make you do too much at once." Naru patted Althea on the back reassuringly, and she smiled softly.  
"Alright. Do you think we'll walk that much tomorrow?" Althea said nervously, hoping they wouldn't be walking that much every day of this trip.  
"Probably not. We're almost to the ocean, and we have to somehow find a way across. The birds can't carry us for that distance, and I don't think there are very many boats on the coast other than the human vessels."  
"We'll figure something out." Althea nodded, and they walked back toward the camp to get some rest for that night.


	16. Chapter 16

Toran gulped uneasily at the expanse of water in front of him, a few black dots of sea vessels moving slowly in the distance of the rolling waves.  
"Well, we're here." He looked around nervously at the group of humanus around him, and Naru crossed his arms, smiling wryly.  
"What now, Your Majesty?" He snickered, and grunted when Althea elbowed him in the side.  
"Sir, if I may speak?" Umou walked toward Toran, who nodded in answer. "I believe there's a humanus vessel not far from here. I have sent Tobias to scout for the ship."  
"Very good, Umou." Toran said with relief, his posture relaxing.  
"You seem a little too happy to hear that, Toran." Xicro put an arm around Toran's shoulder and snickered. "Oh yeah- I forgot you don't like to swim." The black panther looked to Toran, who glared at him with a deep flush.  
"You don't like to swim? Why not?" Althea smiled as Toran bared his teeth angrily at Xicro for revealing his fear.  
"I was taught by my father. He… was not the best teacher." Toran grumbled, looking at the ground uneasily.  
"Poor Toran here was thrown into a river and expected to swim to the edge. Luckily he did." Xicro laughed, patting Toran on the back playfully.  
"I must have swallowed half the water, though. I still can't swim very well." Toran sighed, glad that most of the humanus had gathered at the beach to try and catch some fish for a meal.  
"Oh- I can, I'll teach you sometime." Althea smiled sweetly. Naru smiled as well, setting a hand on her shoulder.  
"Count me out. My tail will probably send me to the bottom." Naru chuckled. Althea laughed, nodding as Tobias flew towards them, landing next to Umou and Toran.  
"The ship is only a mile away, sir. Solorne is the captain, and he says he's more than willing to let the prince and his group on board his vessel."  
"Solorne?" Toran put a hand to his face in exasperation, letting out a deep sigh.  
"Well this should be interesting." Xicro said in amusement, but caught Althea and Naru's confused looks.  
"Solorne is one of the few lion humanus left. They… well, they're competitors for the throne, and we'll keep it at that." Xicro pointed a thumb to Toran with a smirk. "Solorne and Toran have been fighting and competing since they were cubs. Who's winning now? I lose track."  
"I am." Toran said, as if it were an offense to have been asked.  
"Ooh, a lion? Does he have a mane?" Althea giggled, and Naru, Xicro and Toran all smiled at her eagerness.  
"You're in for a surprise. He's almost as tough as Umou." Xicro said, looking up at Umou, who frowned slightly.  
"I could drop that kitten in a tree. Don't compare him to me." Umou scoffed, but smiled ever so slightly.  
"Well I want to meet him- let's go!" Althea said, and started running down the beach in the direction Tobias had flown from.  
"Hey- wait up!" Naru yelled, trying to keep up with her, but his tail was far too heavy for sprinting very fast. Tobias and Umou took to the air as Toran and Xicro ran after Althea as well, straining their eyes to see the large ship in the distance.

"Welcome to my ship, Toran." A tall humanus walked up and shook Toran's hand eagerly with a smile. He was almost half a foot taller than the tiger humanus, and a bushy brown mane traveled from the top of his head to the middle of his tan-furred chest. He looked curiously at Althea as she stood beside Toran, watching Solorne's every movement in interest.  
"And who might this one be? A human among your group?" the lion raised an eyebrow curiously to Toran.  
"Yeah, she's with me. She won't cause any trouble." Toran said confidently, despite Solorne's confused and shocked expression.  
"I don't know… females are bad luck on ships, especially human females." Solorne looked down at Althea skeptically.  
"I'll try and stay out of the way, I promise." Althea said, suddenly feeling shy under the lion's fierce glare. Solorne let out a snort of disapproval, but nodded.  
"I'll not be having any mischief on my ship. This vessel is a safe haven for those humanus whose villages were destroyed by your kind, and if you make trouble it's into the drink with you."  
Althea nodded quietly, her eyes wide. Naru set a hand on her shoulder reassuringly as they were led forward onto the boat.  
The ship was over a hundred feet long from bow to stern, and large white sails flapped restlessly in the wind above them. As they cast out to sea, Althea looked at the blue water below her thoughtfully, wondering what kind of water creatures were in this world.  
"Hey- miss?" Althea turned around at the sound of a young voice and was surprised to see a young red fox humanus standing behind her, his eyes wide. "You're a human, aren't you?"  
"Yeah, I am." Althea smiled and kneeled down so that she was eye level with him while they talked.  
"My mama was killed by a human. Are you like them?" The child watched her, his green eyes following her every movement.  
"No sweetie, I'm a good human. The only one though- so you should still be careful, okay?" Althea smiled sweetly, and held out her hand to the small boy. He looked at her hand uneasily, and cautiously put his palm onto hers.  
"There, see? I'm not going to hurt you." Althea smiled again and the small fox grinned brightly, rubbing the strange feeling of her skin against the leather pads of his hand.  
"So I've always wanted to ask- what's it like being a human? Is it cold, 'cause you don't have fur?" The boy looked up at her eagerly.  
"Sometimes, but I can put on a blanket if it's too cold. Don't you guys get hot in the summer with that fur coat?"  
"Oh yeah- it gets real bad!" The boy sighed, his eyes widening. "I remember one time I jumped into a river just 'cause I was so hot- I felt like I was gonna die!"  
Althea giggled and looked up as Toran walked up to her, a small smile on his face.  
"Who's this little guy?" Toran kneeled down next to her, noticing the child had suddenly gotten uneasy again.  
"Um… I'm Forin, your majesty." The fox stammered, bowing his head slightly to Toran.  
"No need for that, Forin. While we're on this ship Solorne's in charge. I'm just the same as you." Toran looked to Althea and back to Forin. "So you've met the human, huh? How do you like her?"  
Althea blushed as Forin grinned happily.  
"She's real nice! Did you know they get real cold in winter? It's 'cause they don't have fur! They don't get hot in the summer though, so I guess it's fair."  
"Is that so? I'll have to remember that." Toran grinned at Althea, who blushed again. "You want to know something else, Forin?"  
"Yeah- what?" Forin said eagerly.  
"This human is actually from an entirely different world. She's not even from any of our countries."  
"Really?" Forin looked at Althea in amazement and wonder. Althea chuckled again and stood, walking over to her backpack and bringing it back over near Forin and Toran.  
"This is a bag I brought with me from another world. I have some cool stuff in here, if you want to see it."  
"Sure do! What kind of stuff? Is it food?" the fox leaned over, trying to look into the bag as she opened it.  
"Well, I think I actually have some food in here somewhere. Do you want to share it with me and Toran?"  
"I guess so." Forin said, sounding slightly disappointed. Toran leaned over as well, curiosity getting the best of him.  
Althea pulled out a chocolate bar, holding the shining wrapper between them. "This is a special food from my world. It makes people happy when they eat it because it tastes so good. It's even given as presents on holidays to the one they love because people like it so much. It's called chocolate."  
"Chocolate?" Toran looked down at the small wrapper, his ears perked. "It's really that good?"  
"Here- try some." Althea opened the wrapper and broke off a piece of the brown bar, putting a piece of it in her mouth and humming happily. She broke off other pieces and handed them to Forin and Toran. "Try it."  
Forin ate his first, his eyes widening. "Wow that's good! What's it made of?"  
"Coco beans and milk, I think." Althea wondered if it was okay for carnivores to eat chocolate. She figured a little couldn't hurt them.  
Toran looked down at the piece in his hand, popping the small square into his mouth. He blinked in surprise and looked to Althea, his eyes wide.  
"That's damn good. How much of this stuff do you have?" Toran opened the edge of her bag slightly to see what else was in it.  
"Not much, only this one bar. Should I save it for later?" She looked down at Forin, who frowned.  
"Can I have just one more piece?" the fox pouted, his ears lowering and his eyes widening.  
"Oh god, now _those_ are puppy dog eyes." Althea flinched and broke off another piece for him. Forin cheered and ran off with the piece, running down the stairs of the cabin into the quarters.  
Althea and Toran stood, Toran looking down at his white furred hands, covered in melted chocolate. "Maybe you should save that for a colder place. I'm thinking it's going to melt here."  
"Yeah, chocolate melts pretty quickly." Althea re-wrapped the remainder of the bar and put it back in her bag.  
Toran looked at where Forin had disappeared below deck and sighed. "Thanks for making his day. There are a lot of kids like that, who have lost their parents in this war."  
"No big deal. I love talking with kids. Back in my world I had eight younger cousins." Althea paused, and frowned at the thought of her family. Everyone in her family had always been close- how were they reacting to her being missing for so long?  
Toran put a hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "I'll find a way to get you back to your family Althea, I promise." Toran said softly, not liking the sudden pain filling her eyes.  
"I'm just afraid they think I'm dead or something." Althea whispered, trying to hold back the burning starting to come to her eyes.  
"Well then you'll sure surprise them when you get back, won't you? Come on- let's get some food in you." Toran led her over to the galleys, hoping that a meal would cheer Althea up.


	17. Chapter 17

"Oh wow, look at the size of that fish!" Althea leaned over the rail of the ship, noticing a large flashing figure beneath the surface of the water. The sea mist splashed into her face as the ship rode out a rather large wave, the bright moon of the night casting a silver glow to everything around her. Toran nodded sleepily as he leaned against a pile of bags filled with grain, soon falling asleep from the slow rocking of the ship.  
Althea leaned over a bit farther, noticing something strange about the fish. It looked almost too wide- fish generally had a rather streamlined shape, but this one looked strangely shaped. The silver of its scales flashed as if in warning and Althea gasped as large hands pushed at her back, sending her tumbling over the railing and into the rolling water beneath.  
The large fox looked down at her over the railing with hard eyes, his broken arm held tightly against his chest with a cloth. He stayed for a moment longer, watching her thrash in the water beside the slow moving boat before walking back below deck to his son.  
"Help!" Althea managed to yell above the water's surface before going back under another set of waves. Toran woke and looked to the spot where Althea had been standing and stood quickly, running over to the railing.  
"Althea!" Toran yelled, seeing her struggling in the water. He knew he should jump in after her… he should save her, but he didn't know how to swim in waves that high…  
"What happened?" Naru and Xicro came from below deck, Naru tripping on his tail as he tried to scramble up the narrow stairs. Xicro looked over the railing beside Toran and swore loudly, running back to the other side of the ship. Naru finally ran over, looking at Althea with wild green eyes as he wondered what he could do. He looked at Toran's pained face and knew that the tiger was having the same battle within himself.  
"Move, you two!" Xicro yelled as he ran between Toran and Xicro, jumping off the side of the boat with a long rope tied to his waist. He dove into the water and surfaced, looking around for Althea's yells among the rolling waves. The creaking of the boat beside him covered the noise for a moment until he saw Althea splash behind him, already far behind the boat. Xicro swam as fast as he could toward her, but gasped as he rope around his waist held him away from her, tied to the boat's railing.  
"Damn it!" Xicro yelled, straining to reach her as she floated further away. He watched in horror as she fell beneath the surface for far too long, bubbles popping on the surface where she had been. A large curved fin surfaced on the area around her, then dipped below the surface. A silver flash filled the water as a metallic fin thrashed at the water, swimming quickly down into the waves.  
"What was that? Where's Althea?" Toran yelled from the ship as he strained to see what was happening.  
Another metallic flash shown among the waves as Althea surfaced again, unconscious. She was held by a seemingly metallic being, his eyes looking to Xicro as he swam, holding Althea in his arms. He pushed Althea toward Xicro, watching him for a moment in interest.  
"It has been a long time since either of our kind has met, land walker." The being spoke, the large tendrils on the top of his head floating on the surface around his shoulders.  
"Y-yes, it has been a long time." Xicro said, looking down at Althea and sighing in relief when he saw she was still breathing. "Thank you for saving her."  
"You are most welcome. Why your kind would want to save one of your killers I'll never understand. I am being rude, though. My name is Ichi of the tuna clan. We have been wondering of the land walker's fate for a long while now. However, I believe you should help her first." Ichi looked at Althea as her skin paled.  
"Yeah. Could I talk from the boat?" Xicro said uneasily, not quite sure what to say to this new creature.  
"But of course." Ichi nodded, and pushed Xicro toward the boat with his powerful fin. Xicro thanked him as he was hoisted from the water as Toran and Naru pulled the rope from the ship.  
Back on deck, Toran grabbed Althea as Naru helped Xicro over the railing, looking behind him in interest as Ichi followed beside the boat, swimming slowly.  
"Move aside, you two." Xicro pushed Toran away from Althea as she sputtered for breath. Toran and Naru watched in confusion as Xicro put his mouth to Althea's breathing into her until she coughed, water spurting from her mouth. Leaning away with relief, Xicro let Toran take Althea again as he walked back over to the railing.  
"Ah, there you are." Ichi looked up as Xicro leaned over. "Where are you heading?"  
"We're going to the Okami kingdom, by cutting through the human kingdom. The prince wants to gather the humanus to fight the humans for the last battle."  
"The 'last battle'? How many of you are left?" Ichi said in concern.  
"Not many. Naru is the last peacock, Toran is only one of three tigers, and I'm one of five black leopards that I know of."  
"Oh my… That's not good news." Ichi said thoughtfully. "Well I believe after they settle your lands they'll come after us. Our countries have been at peace for as long as we've existed. Will you be at sea for long?"  
"Yeah, for probably another couple weeks or so, depending on the wind." Xicro sighed. He was getting tired of the rocking of the ship.  
"Very well. I will discuss this new event with my queen, and I will bring you news of what her decision is." Ichi said and disappeared under the surface, his fin kicking up a large splash behind him.  
"Decision?" Xicro whispered to himself in confusion and turned back to Toran.  
"Will she be alright?" Xicro walked back over, seeing Naru holding a glowing hand to Althea's chest.  
"I think so, she's just really cold." Naru said in relief. He stood to go get some blankets, leaving Toran and Xicro with Althea.  
Toran held Althea to his chest, trying to keep her warm as she shivered. He looked down to her and back up to Xicro, his eyes fierce. "Do you think she fell over the railing?"  
"Probably, she's been leaning on it for nearly the entire time we've been on board." Xicro shrugged.  
"Exactly, and she hadn't fallen at all. The railing's pretty high compared to her height…" Toran said thoughtfully, and held Althea tighter to him.  
"What are you trying to say? You think someone pushed her?" Xicro whispered, wondering if anyone else was listening to them.  
"It's a possibility. There's a lot of people on the ship who hate humans, but don't know her."  
"That's true." Xicro said sadly, knowing Toran was probably right. They both looked up as Naru settled several blankets over Althea.  
"We should probably bring her below deck. The air is pretty cold."  
"Alright, I'll take her. Tomorrow morning, you two watch for someone who's surprised to see that she's still around. Someone pushed her, I know it. She's too careful to have fallen into the water like that."  
Naru nodded solemnly and followed Toran as he carried Althea below deck into the small rooms.

The next morning, Naru leaned against one of the railings of the ship watching those around him casually while eating a bowl of grain. He didn't much like the coarse grit of the grain, but it was the only food on board for him to eat. He looked up as one of the last people came out for breakfast, the father and son fox. The father looked around for a minute and smiled, getting him and his son some jerky from the store of food set out on deck. Though the father looked happy, the son looked rather sad as he took the meat and sat down in a corner of the boat to nibble on it. Then Toran came out, supporting Althea with an arm around her waist as they made their way to the barrels to get some food. Suddenly the father looked struck, as if something had frightened him. Naru smirked, knowing he had caught the one who had pushed Althea over the rails.  
Naru walked over to Toran, careful to have people avoid stepping on his tail. His lower back was still hurting from the feathers being pulled yesterday when he had tripped. He refilled his bowl of grain as Toran reached to find a good piece of jerky for Althea.  
"The fox. He looked like he had seen a ghost." Naru said quietly, and Toran nodded. Althea looked at them in confusion as took the jerky offered to her. Her cheeks were flushed red, but her skin was otherwise still quite pale.  
"You're okay, Althea." Naru smiled. He noticed her red cheeks and frowned. "Are you feeling okay?"  
"Yeah, just a little warm. No big deal." She shrugged.  
"Wait." Toran turned around, putting his palm to her forehead. He sighed and shook his head in dismay. "I told you coming out here was a bad idea. You should have stayed in bed."  
"I'm tired of beds. I want to walk around." Althea pouted, but squeaked in surprise when Toran picked her up again.  
"Don't care. You're going to get some more rest. You have a fever." Toran said matter-of-factly and started walking her back to the room.  
"You're like an annoying older brother, you know that?" Althea growled in frustration.  
"Annoying or not, I don't want you to be sick." Toran growled back, making Naru chuckle as he watched after them. He crunched on another handful of grain, wincing at the stale food.

"Alright son, your father is going to make you safe, alright?" The older fox looked down at his son, his green eyes strangely empty.  
"Dad, please leave her alone- you're starting to scare me." Forin whined to his father, his ears flipped back as he wondered at his father's strange expression.  
"No Forin, they killed your mother. I don't want to lose you too." The older fox stood and took a hook he had found on deck out of the cloth holding his arm to his chest. He left his son and crept down the hall to the room he had seen the human go into earlier. She had been looking sick from his first attempt to get right of her, but she wasn't dead yet…  
The fox opened the door, being as silent as he could. He spotted the human on the bed across the room, sound asleep. Smiling in satisfaction, he took the hook out of his bandage and gripped it tightly as he started creeping across the room. He closed the door behind him, revealing a very angry tiger behind it. Toran grabbed the hook from the fox's hands and gripped the humanus' collar, holding him up against the wall as the fox yipped in fear. Althea woke at the loud noise and looked up to see Toran baring his fangs angrily at a large fox humanus, a low and dangerous growl coming from Toran's throat.  
"You were trying to _kill_ her." Toran said, his voice laced with a strange growling sound.  
"I-I'm sorry! I just didn't want her to-"  
"SHUT UP!" Toran slammed him against the wall again, making Althea flinch and the fox yip again. "She wasn't going to do anything, you idiot! It's people like you that make the humans hate us even more! Do you think that all humans are evil or something?!"  
"But they killed my wife, and tried to kill my son! They'll do it again!" The fox whined, looking at Althea with wide eyes.  
"You're Forin's father?" Althea said softly. The fox looked at her in surprise that he knew his son's name.  
"Y-yes." The fox said nervously, glancing at Toran's fierce eyes.  
"I wouldn't hurt him. He's a nice boy." Althea said, standing and walking over to Toran. "You can let him down, he won't try it again."  
Toran growled at the fox for a minute longer before letting him slide down the wall to the ground. The fox stayed against the wall, watching Toran.  
"So… you're not with the other humans, then?" The fox looked at Althea in confusion.  
"No, not at all. I'm not even from here." She sighed.  
"She's from the mirror, fox. She came from another world. She didn't even know what was going on when I first met her." Toran looked down at him, his eyes still blazing.  
"T-then where is she from?" The fox looked at her skeptically.  
"From Earth- the city Grand Rapids in the state of Michigan in the country of United States to be exact." Althea grinned at both the humanus' confused expressions. "You asked." She shrugged.  
"Alright, are you satisfied? She's one of the few humans who want to help us. Don't ruin it by killing those who want to help our kind." Toran opened the door, pushing the fox out of the room.  
"I'm sorry. I didn't know." The fox said to Althea as Toran shut the door.  
Toran put a palm to his face and growled in frustration. "Why are some people so idiotic? Just because something happens, they think the whole species is evil. That's how we got into this mess."  
"Well it's the same problem in my world too." Althea sighed. "Except the problem with us is the different countries, since we're all the same species."  
Toran looked up at her and nodded. "Alright, you still need rest though. Do you want me to stay here and watch for other people?"  
"No, I think I'll be okay." Althea smiled.  
"Alright. Get some rest, don't play with the weird stuff in your bag." Toran looked down at the backpack in the corner and walked out the door, closing it b ehind him.


	18. Chapter 18

Solorne squinted his eyes to see something in the distance, wondering that it was. It looked almost like the ocean was glowing somehow. He blinked a few times, but seeing nothing better, he called out to Toran.  
"You see that?" Solorned pointed into the distance, Toran straining himself to see it.  
"It looks… like the sun's reflection. What's wrong?" Toran looked to Solorne as he had gone crazy.  
"That's no reflection. Do you have anyone with good eyesight?"  
"Yeah. Hey, Tobias!" Toran called down to the peregrine falcon, who looked up at him in confusion. "We need your eyes. Something's ahead of us."  
"You got it, sir." Tobias flew up to the upper deck, landing beside Toran. He looked off into the distance, his eyes widening in surprise. "You guys aren't going to believe this."  
Toran and Solorne looked at him in interest and Tobias let out a loud yell, making the two mammals flinch at the sound, covering their ears. Sora and Umou flew onto the upper deck, wondering what the problem was.  
"There's hundreds- I don't even know how many- of… things coming toward us. They're swimming." Tobias pointed at the stripe glitters in the distance, which was now getting wider.  
"Gods, you're right! There's tons of them!" Sora looked out in wonder and Toran's ears twitched as he heard a strange sound.  
"Hear that?" He looked to Solorne, who moved part of his mane from his ears to listen better.  
"Sure do- sounds strange. Are they expecting us to reply? I don't think I could make that noise." The lion huffed, looking at the crowd that had gathered on his deck.  
"Wait- I've heard that sound before… I'll be right back." Toran ran down below the decks to the rooms, knocking on the door of the room Althea was in. "Hey- we need you on deck!"  
A low groan was the reply as he woke Althea up. He waited until she came out of the room before grabbing her wrist and pulling her up the stairs to the front of the ship.  
"Alright, now scream." Toran pointed into the distance at the oncoming flashes.  
"What?" Althea looked in confusion at Toran.  
"They're calling, and we can't make that noise. You're the only one that can. Scream."  
"What are they?"  
"They're the aquatics! Call back as quick as you can!" Xicro ran up on deck from the quarters after hearing the commotion above. He was tying the last string on his belt as he ran up to Althea. "They want to help us, I think. Just call back so they know we're not humans. Humans would never realize to call back to them."  
Althea sighed and took in a deep breath, screaming as loudly as she could. Xicro looked at her in horror as he held his ringing ears.  
"Damn, you can make that sort of noise that loud?" The panther groaned, rubbing his ears.  
"They heard it." Toran pointed at the oncoming hoard of metallic beings, most of them stopping a few hundred yards ahead of the ship, but two swam forward.  
"Greetings, land walkers!" Ichi called out to the deck. Xicro leaned over the railing.  
"Hello, Ichi. I see you brought some friends." Xicro looked up and marveled at the sheer amount of people around him- hundreds if not thousands of aquatics.  
"Yes, the queen as agreed to help the humanus in their fight. This is a squad of our army we have assembled for the cause.  
"This is a squad?" Toran gasped at the people around the ship.  
"Yes. And might you be the prince Xicro was talking about?"  
"Yes, I am. Toran of the Tora kingdom. You are the one who helped save Althea a few weeks ago? I thank you for that."  
"It was no problem, prince. My queen has asked me to follow your orders for now. What will you have us do?"  
Toran blinked in surprise and looked back up at the people gathered around the boat.  
"How about you prevent any more humans from entering the Humanus continent? Is that possible?"  
"But of course. We have always caused mischief, and now we will have a reason for it." Ichi grinned, turning back toward the other creatures. He let out a loud screech, and most of them disappeared under the water, about ¼ of them staying above the surface.  
"This is Tango. He will escort you the rest of the way to the human kingdom, and then greet you at the other side when you arrive to take you to the Okami kingdom. I will also meet you there with part of my squadron." Ichi motioned to a black and white humanus beside him, looking much like a killer whale.  
"Thank you, it will be appreciated." Toran said, and watched as Ichi waved and jumped into the water, swimming back toward the smaller group of people waiting for him. They then turned around and started swimming toward the human kingdom, quickly outrunning the slow boat.  
"Well that'll help quite a bit." Toran smiled happily. He clapped Xicro on the back with a laugh. "Good job, bookworm! You just saved hundreds of lives."  
Xicro grinned and nodded. "No problem princey."  
Toran paused at the use of the nickname he hated so much but decided to let it slide- just this once.  
"Land walkers!" A deep voice sounded from beside the ship and Toran and Xicro leaned over to see the killer whale humanus swimming beside the ship. "I would assume you want to go to the least populated coastline of the human kingdom to cross to the Okami?" Tango called out.  
"Yeah, that'd be nice." Toran said sarcastically. With the few dozen humanus he had now, if they went through one of the more populated areas they'd be killed outright.  
"Very well. Tell your captain to turn five palms left from the sun's position, and follow me." Tango called out, swimming out in front of the ship.  
"I heard him." Solorne called from the ship's helm, turning the wheel so that he was following Tango.  
"We'll get there within a few days at this rate." Toran grinned.  
"Oh joy. Then the real fun begins." Xicro said sarcastically, and walked over to talk with Althea.  
"Land ho! Everyone get to the boats if you want to get off at land. Those of you who want to stay on the ship, we're heading to the nearest humanus town for supplies." Solorne called out from the wheel as the anchor was dropped and rowboats unhooked from the sides of the ship. Toran looked at the barren landscape in front of him, far different from the lush green hills and forests he was used to. He had a feeling traveling through these lands was going to be harder than he had thought…

"Alright, everyone look out for someone who might see us. We don't want to be ambushed." Toran looked around cautiously, wishing that the landscape around them wasn't quite so flat.  
"Hey- what's that?" Althea pointed to a scorched piece of wood on the ground. She picked it up and scoffed in disgust when the ash came off onto her hand.  
"That's pretty fresh for being in the middle of nowhere." Xicro said thoughtfully, taking the wood and turning around in his hands curiously.  
"Come to think of it, all this brush looks burned too." Toran looked around, noticing the small shrubs on the ground scorched without any leaves.  
"Some fire must have gone through here recently. Something probably got hit by lightning."  
"No… this doesn't look like lightning." Althea said in confusion. It looked almost like…  
No, there was no way. She laughed at herself for thinking that was possible here and continued walking forward with the group.  
"There's a village ahead- it's completely deserted, and burned." Sora said from overhead.  
"We'll check it out, but be careful everyone." Toran said, feeling uneasy among the burnt ashes.

The village was completely burned to the ground. Buildings which had once stood were now ashen remains of their former selves. Toran kicked down one of the doors to the houses, stepping back as a few of the boards from above fell to the ground. He looked inside, looking down with wide eyes at the burned skeletons on the ground inside the building. He kicked open another door, only to see more remains of the humans who had once lived there.  
"Something serious happened here. I think we should leave." Toran grabbed Althea's wrist, leading her away from any of the houses he had opened.  
"Wait- what's this?" Althea noticed a glint on the ground among the ashes. She walked over and scuffed at the shine with her foot, recovering a bottle containing a strange liquid and a rag sticking out of the top of the narrow neck of the bottle.  
"N-no way, how could this be here?" Althea bent down, picking up the ash covered bottle. The top of the rag looked charred, but looks like it had been put out by something.  
"What, it's just a bottle?" Toran took out the rag and sniffed at the contents of the bottle, gasping and holding the bottle away from his nose in disgust.  
"What a rank smell! What the hell is in this thing?" Toran swished the bottle's contents, noticing it looks oily.  
"Let me see." Xicro took the bottle from Toran, sniffing the neck carefully. "Smells… like yellow crystal. I have some of that back at the library."  
"Yellow crystal?" Althea looked at Xicro in confusion.  
"Yeah, it's a rock that burns and smells awful when he's on fire. I found some around a volcano."  
"Oh, you mean sulfur?" Althea asked, glad she had taken a couple chemistry classes in college.  
"Um… sure. That's probably what you call it on your world. Anyway, it smells like that." Xicro looked around at all the broken bottles on the ground. "Whoever made this has a lot of them. What do you think they do?"  
"Put things on fire, by the looks of it." Toran said sarcastically, and started to lead the group out of the village.  
"So those things can set stuff on fire? It looks pretty bad to burn down a whole village." Naru said, holding his tail feathers from the ash in his arms.  
"A whole _human_ village. That means we have an ally somewhere around here." Toran said thoughtfully, looking around again for any sign of a living creature.

"Shall we rest for tonight? I see a cave ahead." Tobias said to those below him as he flew casually next to Sora.  
"Good idea. Be careful though, it may have a bear in it." Toran called out as Tobias and Sora flew ahead to investigate.  
Once they flew back, Toran quickly noticed their awkward expressions.  
"What's wrong, you two?" Umou said from the ground, giving his wings a rest.  
"The cave is filled with bottles and a barrel of that stuff from earlier." Tobias landed next to Umou as Sora landed on the ground beside him.  
"Well, it looks like we found the home of our friend." Xicro smiled. "I say we pay him a visit."  
Toran looked uneasily at the direction the cave was in. "Alright, but I don't have a good feeling about this."

Entering the dark cave, the group found barrels of liquid along one of the walls, and shelves build into the rock with strange piles of powder on them.  
"Tobias was right, it is the same liquid from earlier." Xicro took his hand out of the barrel and covered the lid back up to capture the smell.  
"There's tons of bottles here, too." Althea looked around at the hundreds of bottles that littered the corner of the small cave. "Everything you need is right here… This guy is nuts- how does he know how to make these?!" Althea looked at the bottles in curiosity.  
"Make what? What are you going on about?" Toran said in annoyance.  
"Molitov cocktails." Althea said in a low, nervous voice. "With greek fire in them."


	19. Chapter 19

"How on earth can he know this? This is stuff from my world!" Althea looked at the bottle in wonder, turning it around in her hands.  
"Maybe he just thought of it on his own- you never know what people will come up with." Xicro shrugged, taking the bottle from Althea. "What I want to know is how he managed to mine so much sulfur. I don't know of any deposits for miles.  
"What I'd like to know is what you people are doing in my home." A low gruff voice sounded from behind them. The humanus all turned around quickly, Toran unsheathing his sword and Xicro putting a hand on his whip in caution. A brown humanus stood at the entrance of the cave, his large bear-like ears flipped back against his head in annoyance, and his long cat tail lashing at the air behind him. He looked around with fierce yellow eyes and huffed in discontent. "I see the royal family has finally priviledged me with their presence. Does this mean I get to go back?"  
"Go back?" Toran looked at the humanus in confusion. "I had no idea you were even here."  
The humanus' eyes flashed in anger, letting out a low growl. "What the fuck do you mean 'you didn't know?' Didn't the king tell you he sent me over here? I've been doing what he said for over 20 years now, and I'd like to head back now. I'm sick of these people."  
"I'm sorry, my father didn't tell me anything of the sort. He hasn't spoken to me for a few years now." Toran said softly, trying to calm the rising tension in the air.  
The new humanus let out another growl before calming down, his shoulders slumping as he sighed in frustration. "Alright, prince. I guess you wouldn't have known. You were only a kitten back then. I'm Benett, the man in charge of weapons for fighting against the humans. I've been searching for something I read about for a long time, but haven't managed to find it yet."  
"I'm Toran. This is the group I'm taking with me to the Okami kingdom. We're gathering the humanus for a stand against the human kingdom. You can come with us, if you'd like." Toran held out a hand for Benett to shake. Benett looked at Toran uneasily for a moment before letting out another sigh.  
"Alright, I'll come with you then. Just let me pack some things first." Benett moved past the group, gathering some of the powders from the shelves, and containers of liquid into a large burlap bag.  
"Why didn't you go home on your own? There are ways to get back." Naru said skeptically.  
"No one asked you, feather butt. It was my duty to the kingdom to stay here." Benett growled at the peacock, who crossed his arms with a snort of anger at the new nickname.  
"Understandable." Xicro nodded, remembering his own past as a guard of the Tora castle. Benett looked up at Xicro curiously for a minute before continuing to pack containers into a sack cloth.  
"So, you haven't heard from the other guy sent out either then? He was put into a worse territory than I was." Benett stood, hoisting the heavy bag over his strong shoulders with ease.  
"No, I haven't." Toran said uneasily. He didn't like that his father had sent out people so long ago without asking him.  
"Alright, I suppose we'll meet the little guy at some point- if he's still alive, that is." Benett shook his head in dismay. "I hope Izaho's alright though."  
"Ah- I remember him." Xicro nodded. "I'm sure he's fine."  
"I was wondering if you had a store of water in here, Benett- it looks like it's mostly desert outside." Althea said softly, looking around the cave for any sign of water. Benett looked to the human with raised eyebrows for a minute before glancing to Toran and shrugging.  
"In the back- humans used to come in here and steal the water, so I had to hide it. We'll need it if we're crossing the desert." Benett looked anxiously at the flat land ahead of his cave, the heat rippling the air in front of the setting sun. "It's hell out there, and I'm used to the heat- but it was hard at first. When are we leaving?"  
"As soon as we get a full night's rest, we'll leave in the morning." Toran said, and Benett shook his head.  
"Bad idea- it's better to travel through the desert at night- it's a lot cooler, and you won't have the sun beating on you. First thing I learned out here." Benett glanced toward Althea. "Though the human will have a hard time with no fur. It gets pretty chilly."  
"I'll be fine." Althea nodded confidently. "My name's Althea, by the way."  
"Alright." Benett shrugged, and walked outside the cave. "We should get going. The desert is pretty wide, and the ocean's on the other side."  
Toran nodded, picking up Althea's bag that he had sat on the ground. "Looks like we're skipping sleep for tonight, guys. We'll sleep when the sun rises." The tiger said, walking ahead of Benett into the desert sands.  
Xicro watched Toran and the others walk forward, waiting until only Althea and Naru were the last to leave. He touched Althea's arm lightly to get her attention, and smiled when she turned around in confusion.  
"I have something for you. I found it in the village when we were trying to figure out what had happened." Xicro held out a small charred book to Althea. She took the book, looking at it in confusion before flipping through its pages with wide eyes. She smiled up to Xicro in excitement, looking up as Naru stared at the book over her shoulders.  
"This will be really helpful for the Okami kingdom." The peacock nodded in satisfaction. "But it will take a lot of training to master."  
"I'm sure she'll be able to do it." Xicro nodded confidently. "But I think we should catch up with the others. They'll be wondering what we're talking about, and I think we should keep this between us for now."  
"Good idea." Naru nodded, and put the book in Althea's backpack. Xicro ran to catch up with Toran as Althea and Naru walked behind them, Naru smiling eagerly at the new lessons he would teach.  
Althea walked beside Naru at the back of the group as they traveled through the sands of the expansive desert. Even though it was night, it wasn't hot, but it was still difficult to get through the shifting sands as they fought to keep walking forward through the dunes. Benett looked around as a rumble sounded through the night, watching as one of the dunes in the distant shifted slightly, sand falling down the slope of its side.  
"Shit-" Benett ran up to the front of the group, waving his hands to get their attention. "SAND WURM! Run to the top of the dune- quick!" He said, and started scrambling up the side of the nearest dune. Naru looked over his shoulder to see a strange lump in the sand moving quickly toward them. Letting out a squawk of fear he grabbed Althea's elbow and started dragging her forward up the side of the dune, but was weighted down by his tail. "Hurry, Althea! Get to the top!" Naru yelled, pushing her ahead of him. She looked behind them as a great snake rose out of the sand, hissing as it licked at the air to taste for those it had sensed at the surface. It turned toward Althea and Naru, who started scrambling toward the top.  
"What the hell is that thing?" Althea yelled as they tried to climb up the side of the shifting dune, sand falling around them.  
Toran watched anxiously as Althea and Naru tried to fight up the side of the dune, knowing with dread that they weren't going to make it. "Naru- kill it! Shoot it or something, you're not going to make it up here!"  
Naru looked over his shoulder at the jaw of the creature, which was wide in anticipation, revealing rows of large fangs, each at least a foot long. "Althea, I need you to shoot the wurm- don't hold back or anything, just let it have it!" Naru said, his green eyes wide as he gripped at the sand for a better hold. Althea turned around to look at the sand wurm, which was waiting eagerly for them at the bottom of the dune. She held out a hand and a blue glow formed in her palm, glowing brighter and brighter until she let it shoot off toward the wurm, hitting the beast on the side of the jaw. She watched with horror as the monster screamed in pain, looking at her with hatred in its eyes before sinking under the surface of the sand again. Naru relaxed and slowly made his way up the hill, helping Althea up beside him. They both got up to the crest of the dune and Naru stood as Althea sat on the sand, shaking in fear. Toran sighed and kneeled beside her, moving her hair from her face in concern. Her eyes were wide and brimmed with tears, her face far too pale to be good.  
"Do they not have those in your world either?" He whispered, trying to calm her down. She shook her head slowly, looking at him in shock.  
"Is there anything else like that I should know about?" She said, her voice wavering.  
"I will tell you later. For now, I think I have some explaining to do again." Toran looked up at Benett's confused expression as he stared at Althea.  
Toran stood and turned to the brown cat-like humanus, looking up at the taller man without fear.  
"That human isn't from this country." Benett said in a low voice, looking at Toran accusingly.  
"No, she's not. She's from the mirror, from a world called 'Earth'. She has no idea what's in this world, or how to deal with it." Toran explained quickly. He was getting tired of telling the story to everyone who saw Althea.  
Benett looked at Althea in surprise. "What's in her world then?"  
"Why don't you ask her? All I know is there's no humanus, magic or sand wurms. She mentioned a bunch of weird things like planes that fly and lights that can be turned on without candles."  
Benett's eyes widened at the thought of such technology, and looked to Althea with new interest. "What are the weapons like there?" He asked eagerly.  
"No idea. Ask her when she's more calm though." Toran looked to Althea in concern as Naru kneeled beside her and helped her stand. The peacock looked at his tail in dismay, unfurling the large feathers behind his back and shaking the dust and sand from them, a cloud of dust forming around him.  
Althea laughed at the sight and Naru smiled in relief to see her alright again.  
"We should camp here for the night, and keep traveling in the morning. Those wurms make it too dangerous to travel at night, so we'll have to bear the heat anyway." Toran said loudly to everyone in the group. They all nodded uneasily, setting up camp for the night in anticipation for the next day's journey.

"Althea." Naru whispered to wake Althea up later that night. He shook her shoulder softly to wake her, but she only grumbled and turned over in her sleep. He sighed and reached up, plucking one of the longer feathers that made up his hair, ticking her under the nose with it. She sputtered and looked around in shock, but sighed with relief when she only saw Naru snickering at her.  
"We need to start practicing from that book. If we're going to master it by the time we get to the Okami kingdom, then we'll need to train every night."  
Althea grumbled in protest, but sat up, her eyes droopy.  
"You're a heavy sleeper." Naru chuckled, helping her stand. They walked further down the dune, so that they were out of the sight of the others. Naru held the book in his hand, turning when he thought they were at a good spot.  
"Alright, this will be more complicated than just blasting a log." Naru opened the book to its first page, reading the incantations with interest. "We'll start with something easy. Close your eyes, and repeat after me. Exactly as I say." Naru emphasized and started reading off the incantation. When they finished he smiled in satisfaction, seeing her body glowing a soft blue.  
"Great, now reach inside yourself. All this says is that everyone has their own animal they fit best, so I guess we'll have to find out what you are. Try just ears and a tail." Naru watched with wonder as Althea grew black ears and a long black furry tail. She looked behind herself, giggling with joy at the sight of the bushy tail.  
"Oh my, that's going to be interesting later on." Naru snickered at the sight of the creature that represented Althea.  
"What?" Althea looked at him in confusion, her ears flipping back anxiously.  
Naru laughed at the ears on top of her head, thinking they looked strange on such a familiar face. "You're a black wolf, my dear. Remember what the royal families are?"  
Althea paused for a minute before her eyes widened. "Wait- I'm a wolf? T-that means that…"  
"You're now royalty. Congradulations." Naru snickered. He watched as Althea's tail bristled in shock. She turned blue eyes toward him in fear. "But that's bad- what if they want to keep me there?"  
"You'll be with Toran, I don't see how that's a problem." He shrugged. He looked down at the next page. "The hardest part will be the legs, I think. They're what's different between the human and humanus. Other than the fur, of course."  
Althea nodded, her ears twitching. "Alright teacher, what's next?" Her tail wagged behind her slowly.  
Naru watched her for a minute before blushing and moving through the pages.  
"Okay, I think we should try this next…"


	20. Chapter 20

The heat was unbearable. Toran gasped, his dry mouth hung open and tongue panting as he walked across the sand, seeing nothing but wavering air and dunes in the distance. Why would anyone want to live in this place? It was the most horribly dry environment he had ever experienced. He glanced past him to see the others not faring any better- especially Naru and Althea, who had slowed down their pace and were falling behind again. He held up a hand to stop the group and let them catch up, glancing up at the blazing sun above them, and letting out a low animal-like growl of frustration. He turned around to watch Althea as she gasped for air, wondering why she didn't pant to keep cool like the rest of them. Naru was gasping as well, letting his tail drag behind him carelessly.  
"This is insane- I was never cut out to do this." Althea gasped, her dry throat raspy. "Going from Michigan to the friggin' Sahara- this sucks." She grumbled to herself.  
Naru only nodded in response, his eyes glazed over as he seemed to look at something in the distance. He focused in confusion and let out a yell of surprise, his face brightening. He started stumbling forward past Toran, his long talons digging through the sand as he fought to chase something.  
"Naru?" Althea called out in confusion as the peacock humanus ran down the other side of the dune and out of sight.  
"He's following a mirage- we have to catch him." Xicro said in concern, running after Naru.  
Xicro easily caught up with the struggling Naru, holding his shoulders as he tried to fight forward still.  
"Let me go!" Naru yelled in anger as Althea caught up as well.  
"Not a chance, boy." Xicro growled, keeping a firm grip on Naru's shoulders. Naru watched in horror as the thing he was seeing disappeared into the distance. He fell to his knees, his feathered hair falling around his face as he choked with emotion.  
"They were there… why didn't you let me go to them?" He whispered angrily.  
"Who was there?" Althea asked softly, kneeling next to him to see his expression.  
"My parents!" Naru yelled, looking up with misty eyes. Althea bit her lip uneasily.  
"That was a mirage, Naru. They weren't really there." She said softly.  
Naru looked up at her in surprise, his green eyes wide. "But- they were flying- I saw them."  
"Peacocks can't fly, remember?" Xicro sighed. "Only glide."  
Naru nodded, looking up as Toran kneeled next to him as well. He looked away, waiting for Toran's sarcastic remark about his behavior.  
"Come on." The tiger held out a hand to help him up. Naru looked up at him for a minute, blinking in surprise before taking his hand and standing up again.  
"Night will fall soon. We'll be able to rest then." Benett said, walking over to the rest of them.  
"Indeed. We will have to rest my squad as well- we have never gone through territory such as this." Umou looked back at Sora and Tobias, who were trying to look collected, though their wings were drooped from exhaustion behind their backs.  
"This is turning out to be harder than I thought. I'm sorry if it's too much." Toran said, glancing at everyone before settling his eyes on Althea.  
"Not a big deal. It's worth it if we can get the Okami kingdom to help." She smiled.  
Benett smiled in pleasant surprise and nodded. "Come on kitten, let's keep going." Benett put a hand on Xicro's shoulder for support as the panther struggled to stand up on wobbly feet again.  
"We'll walk slower until nightfall. There's no need to have any of us over exert ourselves." Toran said confidently.  
"Good idea." Naru said, embarrassed he had actually thought his parents were still alive. He was careful not to catch anyone's eyes as he started walking forward, making Althea and Toran glance at each other in concern as he left.

"Finally- it's cool." Toran laid back on the sand, sprawling his limbs out with a sigh.  
"Actually no- cool is 50's. This is cold." Althea sat on the sand, shivering as another breeze picked up sand and seemed to shake her to her bones with a new wave of cold shivers.  
"You're cold?" Naru asked, watching her in concern.  
"Well yeah- I'm the only one here without a naturally built in fur coat." Althea wrapped her arms around her front, curling her legs against herself to keep warm.  
"But it was too hot earlier- how can you be so cold?" Benett grumbled warily.  
"I just am- okay? I'm more sensitive to temperatures than you guys. She sighed in embarrassment when her teeth started chattering together, making quick clicking sounds. It had to be at least mid-thirties. Back in Michigan she would be fine with a coat to go outside for hours, but in her flimsy dress she was cold.  
She jumped as arms wrapped around her and looked up to see Toran looking down at her in concern.  
"If you're so cold, then I'll keep you warm." He said simply, glancing up to see Naru's reaction. The peacock only sighed, putting his tail feathers to the side before flopping back against the cool sand as well. Althea nodded and leaned her forehead against his shoulder, finally able to rest. His warmth was quickly sending the cold away- his soft fur tingling against her skin. She looked down at the striped fur on his arm thoughtfully, letting out a soft sigh. She knew she was beginning to like Toran, but there was no way they could ever be together- not only was he from a different world, he wasn't even human.  
Toran looked down at Althea's sigh with an eyebrow raised in confusion, but decided to let it pass. He watched as Naru stood, walking over to Althea's bag and holding the book up so she could see it. Althea nodded and wriggled out of Toran's embrace, smiling at him in apology.  
"I have to go practice if I'm going to be able to control my powers by the time we get to the Okami kingdom." Althea said softly. Toran nodded, feeling the sudden tension from her, and frowned. She slipped away, walking off with Naru, her shoulder slumped sadly.

"That is SO much better." Althea sighed as she looked down at the black fur running over her arms and legs. It felt… itchy. Like wearing a bodysuit made of rough wool. Her ears perked as she heard Naru chuckle and she couldn't help but glance up at them on her head. She could hear so much more with them- the slight wheeze to Naru's breath from the rough journey that day, the wind blowing the sand around them as they sat a few dunes from the others. It was so different being a humanus, she couldn't imagine what her world would be like to them. With such strong senses it would probably be overbearing.  
"What are thinking of? You look sad." Naru looked at her in concern.  
"I'm not sad." She lied, but sighed in frustration when she realized her ears had been flipped back against her head. She didn't like how revealing they were. "I was thinking of my world again, and how different it is from here. I don't think a humanus would be able to stand it."  
"Why? Are there no fruit?" Naru asked curiously.  
Althea couldn't help but laugh. "No, there's lots of fruit. Some you probably haven't seen before, but I'm talking about the urban areas where all the humans live. It's dirty, and smelly and cramped. There are no trees and the buildings are made of metal, and are thousands of feet tall sometimes."  
"Thousands of feet? You mean like…" He held up his taloned foot as an example of what he was thinking of.  
"No, feet, as in a unit of measurement." She held out her hands in her best guess what the length of a foot was. "About that long."  
"Thousands of that?" Naru gasped in amazement.  
"Yeah, reaching up to the clouds sometimes. We can't use magic in our world, so we make do with other things."  
Naru sat thoughtfully for a minute before glancing to her. "I'd like to see your world someday, but I don't know if you'd want me to from what you're saying."  
Althea laughed at the idea of Naru walking down the street in a city. "They'd capture you and show you off like a circus performer."  
Naru blanched, looking at her in horror. His eyes were filled with a haunting fear as he remembered his former years in captivity.  
"Oh- no, I didn't mean it like that." Althea reached out a hand to him to comfort him, but stopped when he flinched away.  
He closed his eyes tightly, taking a deep, shaky breath as he tried to calm himself down.  
"I'm sorry." Althea whispered sadly, looking down at the sand. Why had she said that to him? She should have known better than to say something like that.  
"You're fine." Naru said, but his voice was still uneasy. They sat in silence for a bit, before Althea risked a glance to him.  
"I mean it." He said, smiling to her reassuringly. She nodded and looked up in surprise as she heard someone walking toward them.  
"Oh no!" She grabbed the book by her side, trying to find the right page to reverse a full transformation. Naru looked up as the footsteps got closer, and stood, dragging Althea off her feet and pushing her behind him. She watched his tail unfurl, giving her a good curtain of privacy from whoever was approaching.  
"What are you guys doing way over here? Wait, where's Althea?" Xicro's voice sounded as Althea frantically flipped through pages.  
"She.. uh… went to pee." Naru said uneasily.  
There was a long, heavy silence before a deep chuckle. "And you just are standing there with your tail unfurled, huh? No one's behind you."  
Althea bit her lip nervously, and yelped in pain as her new fangs dug into the skin. Naru tensed in front of her and let out a deep sigh.  
"You're not back yet, are you?" He asked solemnly to Althea.  
"No, I'm not." She said, her eyes starting to tear up from both the pain of her bite and the fear of Xicro telling Toran what she had been doing.  
"Too late." Naru dropped his tail, revealing Althea's new black wolf form to Xicro. Althea froze, her eyes wide as she stared at him in shock, waiting for his reaction.  
He stared for a minute, blinking in confusion before looking at the book in her hands and smiling. "So that's your true form?" He grinned wryly.  
Althea nodded, a small whimper coming from her, which surprised even herself.  
"Man, that's pretty thorough. If I didn't know better I'd have sworn you were humanus from the start." Xicro walked forward, twirling his hand in a circle to tell her to turn.  
Althea turned slowly, looking up at him uneasily.  
"Don't look so scared. You don't want me to tell Toran, is that it?" Xicro laughed when she nodded. "Don't worry dear, I won't."  
Althea smiled and gave Xicro a tight hug, making the panther look down at her in surprise, but smile. He patted her on the back, pushing her away gently before looking to Naru.  
"Are ou okay with this, boy?" Xicro asked, but his tone had more meaning behind it than Althea could figure out. Naru let out a deep sigh, his tail drooping slightly.  
"It's what's best for her." The peacock said, glancing to Althea uneasily.  
"Well, find out how to turn back into a human, and we'll head back to camp. It's getting late, and we don't want to get caught by another sand wurm." Xicro smirked. Althea nodded and started flipping through the pages again, glancing at the sand in the distance nervously.


	21. Chapter 21

"I'm glad he decided to give us a break today." Naru panted as he fell to his knees in the scorching sand, watching as Althea did the same before falling onto her back and letting out a sigh.  
"Me too." She said, her voice raspy from thirst. She looked down at the skin on her arms to see it bright red from the sun. That was going to be one hell of a sunburn when they were finally out of here…  
"How are you guys doing?" Toran walked over to them, sitting on the other side of Althea from Naru.  
"Tired." Althea smiled weakly, not even bothering to sit up.  
"Maybe we should take more breaks while we walk." Toran said in concern, looking down at her.  
"No, the faster we walk, the sooner we get out of this sand trap." Althea sighed and sat up, shaking her hair to get some of the sand out.  
A loud explosion in the distance made everyone jump and look in that direction. It was followed by a joyous laughter.  
"What was that?" Toran stood up, looking around warily, his hand on the hilt of his sword.  
"I don't know. Where's Benett?" XIcro looked around for the bear-puma, but didn't see him anywhere in sight.  
Toran let out a frustrated sigh before running up the dune, Althea and Naru scrambling after him to see what the noise was.  
When they had finally climbed to the top of the dune they looked over to see a large crater in the sand at the bottom, and Benett laying on his back and laughing.  
"Has he gone nuts?" Toran said in disbelief as Xicro let out a loud surprised yell and slid down the side of the dune. He looked into the middle of the crater and then down at Benett.  
"Is this what I think it is?" He said, a broad smile over his face.  
"YES!" Benett said happily, sitting up and looking back down into the crater. "It's what I've been looking for this whole time. Who knew the damn stuff would be in the desert? The one place I didn't look."  
"What is it?" Althea looked to Naru, who shrugged.  
"This is red crystal! It explodes on impact." Xicro said, taking a small sliver of it, and letting it drop to the ground. When it hit the sand it made a loud spark and small plum of smoke. "There's tons of it here."  
"Sounds like gun powder." Althea said in wonder. Naturally made gunpowder… This could make the humanus a lot more powerful.  
"What's gun?" Toran glanced at her curiously.  
"A gun is a weapon we use back in my world. It shoots a piece of metal propelled at really fast speeds. If it doesn't kill you it hurts you pretty badly."  
"Sounds like my kind of weapon!" Benett said from at the bottom of the dune. "How do you make one?"  
"Oh... uh, I don't exactly know. Um… I know when you pull the trigger it snaps a hammer that impacts the gunpowder in the barrel, and the confined space makes the bullet shoot out. Nate would know exactly how to explain it." Althea said uneasily, remembering her gun-buff friend. She missed him, and all her other friends. What were they doing right now?  
Benett started discussing excitedly to Xicro about confines, space ratios and metals that were best under impact. Althea sighed and looked to the ground uneasily.  
"What's wrong?" Toran looked at her in concern.  
"I miss my friends. They're all probably wondering where I am. Maybe they think I'm dead or something." She bit her lip uneasily, trying to keep back the tears that were burning at her eyes. Her life before this happened would never be the same.  
Naru looked over Althea's shoulder to Toran, and the tiger watched Althea with a worried expression.  
"I said I'd do everything I can to get you back to your world, right? I'm thinking maybe we can find something out in the Okami kingdom, since Xicro didn't know where the mirror that leads back to your world was. Maybe the wolves will."  
"I hope so." Althea said uneasily, her voice slightly shaky.  
"Althea! What are guns made out of?" Xicro yelled up the dune after pausing his discussion with Benett.  
"Uh… iron, I think. And steel if you have that here." Althea said uneasily. "I don't really know much about weapons."  
"That's okay." Toran said with a smile, trying to cheer her up. "Let's go back with the others and leave these two to their rocks." He hooked an arm around her shoulder comfortingly, letting go when she started walking back to their makeshift camp.  
"How much farther until the Okami kingdom, do you think?"  
"Can't be much further." Toran sighed. "The desert wasn't that wide on the map. Plus Umou is flying ahead. When he hits the end of the desert, he's going to turn back around and tell us how far."  
"Oh." Naru said, looking up at the sky. He walked after Althea and Toran, glancing back at his tail and letting out a deep sigh when he saw how filthy the feathers were. That would be awful to clean out when they finally got to some water…  
Toran walked beside Althea and Naru as the group continued their journey, the sand sliding beneath their feet. A loud screech from above made Toran look up and let out a long sigh of relief.  
"It's Umou!" He yelled, smiling to Althea before running ahead to meet the general.  
"Good day, your majesty." Umou bowed slightly. "The ocean is not much further from here. Perhaps a few miles. It seems the aquatics and are waiting for us there as well. I met one of them. I believe he said his name was Tango."  
"Oh, he's there already." Althea smiled. "Ichi is probably still over by the Tora kingdom."  
"Probably. Alright, this will be our last day in this desert. Do you want to go quickly, or slowly?" Toran looked at Althea before glancing to the rest of the group.  
"Quickly!" Althea cheered. "But not running." She chuckled.  
"Agreed." Naru smiled. "I want to get out of here and wash my tail. I feel like I'm dragging half the desert behind me."  
"Alright, we'll do double time then. Come on everyone!" Toran motioned for them to move forward, and started walking quickly into the distance.  
"OH GOD YES!" Althea spotted the water in the distance, her reddened skin prickling from the heat. She stumbled forward as she started to run toward the ocean, Naru following behind her as quickly as he could. She ran as long as she could before slowing to a quick walk, quickening again when she was just a few yards from the water. They splashed into the water, Naru sighing as a large pool of dirt swirled in the water around his tail. He shook the feathers out, looking up to see Toran let out a yell of joy before diving fluidly into the shallow water, splashing both Althea and Naru as he swam.  
"I thought cats don't like water." Althea laughed as Toran surfaced, shaking out his hair.  
"I'm a tiger. We love water." He grinned, his wet fur shining against his skin. "Don't drink the water- guys. Even though it looks good, it's salty." He called out to those around him. He looked up to Althea with a smile and it dropped to a frown as he blanched.  
"What?" Althea said in concern, turning around to see several armed humans on horseback, and a small platoon behind them.  
"Well what do we have here?" One of the men on horseback said. "Looks like some animals made it through the desert."  
Toran walked over to Althea, pulling her so that she was behind him as he and Naru moved shoulder-to-shoulder in front of her, the peacock's palm raised and a golden glow forming.  
"You wish to fight us?" Toran called out to the humans, glancing up to see Umou, Tobias and Sora above, circling overhead.  
"We wish to kill you. Monsters aren't allowed in this kingdom." The human growled.  
"Very well." Toran sighed sarcastically, and let out a loud roar. The human looked up in time to see three bird humanus plummeting toward them, knocking three of the other humans off their horses, talons around their throats. Things soon turned to Chaos as they fought, Benett lighting a small metallic sphere and throwing it toward a mass of humans waiting at the back. A loud explosion sent the humans flying into the air as Toran met swords with the remaining man on horseback.  
"We just wanted safe passage. Why do you hate us?" Toran growled as he kicked the man's horse in the side, tumbling the man off the beast.  
"We do not tolerate monsters!" The man said, quickly standing with his sword ready as the horse reared in anger and ran off.  
Toran let out a low growl, meeting the man's sword again.  
Naru looked around as several humans surrounded him, letting out a small squeak in fear as he let out energy blasts to several of them, but two dodged the attack. They were met with a blast of blue energy, falling to the ground to reveal Althea standing with her palms open, shaking in fear from the sudden battle. Naru let out a yell of warning as another human grabbed Althea, holding her by the shoulders so she couldn't get away.  
"Althea!" Naru yelled out in horror as the human held her tight, grabbing a knife from behind her.  
"Don't come closer!" The human yelled, his eyes flashing. "You really care about this girl, don't you birdie? Well if you take one more step, she'll die."  
Naru groaned in frustration, but stayed where he was. "Toran!" He yelled out, looking back at the tiger as he sliced through another soldier with his sword. Toran looked over and froze when he saw Althea, his green eyes wide.  
"Stay there. He'll kill her." Naru warned Toran, who paused and stayed in place.  
"Good. Now me and the girl are going to see the queen. There's a ransom for you." The man kissed Althea on the cheek, who scoffed in disgust. "You'll make me a rich man."  
Toran let out a low angry growl, his claws retracting from his flexing hands as he fought to stay in place.  
"No!" Althea looked to Toran as the man started to drag her off. She started glowing a bright blue as she struggled, the man's green magic fighting against hers. She let out a loud yell, the blue magic filling the air around her as she blacked out.  
Toran sat up, holding his aching head as he looked around at the humanus littering the ground around him. He scrambled to his feet, but sighed in relief when he saw they were all still breathing, just unconscious. He remembered what had happened and ran past Naru to find Althea on the ground on top of the man who had threatened her. He picked her up and carried her away, setting her down on the ground before taking out his sword and finishing the man off with a loud, angry growl. He bared his fangs down at the human for a minute before walking back over to Althea as Naru started to wake up.  
"Oh wow, what happened?" The Peacock looked around in confusion.  
"The girl blasted you all." A strange voice said from a nearby tree. Toran and Naru looked up in shock at the voice, Naru holding up his palm as Toran set Althea down to bear his sword again.  
"But Fluffy has to ask- why you traveling with a human? Very strange. I think she's nice, because she didn't kill you all. And because prince likes her. A lot."  
Naru grinned at Toran as the tiger blushed and let out a low growl. "Who are you?"  
"My name is Izaho, and this is Floofy." A lemur humanus jumped down from the tree, his long ringed tail flowing behind him.  
"Floofy?" Naru looked at Toran in confusion, who shrugged.  
"Floofy." Izaho pointed to his tail with a pleasant smile.  
"Right." Toran said uneasily. "So, are you the other one my father sent?"  
"Oh yes. Long long time ago, when you were little tiger." Izaho smiled. "Many bad things happened. I was captured, and they did bad things. Almost killed poor floofy." Izaho hugged his tail to him with a sigh. "But we got out, and we're alright now. Where you going?"  
"The Okami kingdom. How about you come with us so we can take you back to the Tora kingdom?"  
"That would be nice. Izaho is wondering if sister is okay." The lemur glanced at Althea on the ground. "She okay? Izaho was about to jump on mean man when she blasted everyone. Lots of magic in her."  
"No kidding." Naru chuckled, looking over his shoulder to see the other humanus slowly waking up.  
"I come with you. Meet wolfies." The lemur grinned happily and looked out to the ocean."Humanus boat? What that doing here?" He said in confusion.  
"Finally." Toran sighed in relief. "It's time to head over the ocean again." He watched as several row boats started to cross from the ship to the shore to meet them.


	22. Chapter 22

Althea watched the shore of the human kingdom disappear into the distance, wondering what the Okami kingdom would be like. She looked at the helm of the ship, wondering who the captain was. She had just gotten into the boat when Ichi had showed up, showing them the direction to head to quickly get to the Okami kingdom.  
"Scuse me." Althea looked up as someone moved past her on the crowded ship, holding back a gasp when she saw that it was a large mammal of some sort, but his hands looked more like hooves at the tips of his fingers- and his hoofed feet clomped along the wood of the ship as he walked over to a group like him.  
"There are different humanus in the Okami kingdom." Toran smiled at Althea's shocked expression. He walked next to her and leaned on the railing, watching the water pass by the boat in waves. He glanced over to her, noticing that one of her shoulders was a strange red color, and was peeling slightly.  
"What happened to your shoulders?" He asked, setting his palm on the reddened skin. Althea hissed in pain, flinching away.  
"It's a sunburn." She said, looking up into concerned green eyes. "Please don't touch it- it hurts."  
"The sun burns you? Why didn't you tell me?" He growled in frustration, grabbing her wrist gently and bringing her into the shade of the decks below.  
"I figured it was pretty obvious, I forgot you guys have fur so you don't burn easily." Althea said in protest, but sighed in relief at the cool shade.  
"Stay in the shade for a while, okay? I don't want you to hurt. It looks painful." He hissed in pity as some of the skin peeled off.  
"It'll be better in a few days." Althea said softly, looking at the ground uneasily. This was starting to get out of hand- the way she was feeling toward Toran and Naru wasn't good. She was going to leave this world and go back to hers- they would both be heartbroken if she continued like this.  
"What's wrong? You've been like this ever since the last night in the desert." Toran leaned down, trying to see her expression.  
"I just… I'll leave soon, you shouldn't care so much." She whispered, but couldn't look up at him. She heard him let out a deep sigh, and looked up to see his warm green eyes looking down at her.  
"Whether you leave or not, it's a little late for that." He smiled, reaching up and touching her cheek gently with the back of his hand. Althea sighed softly at the feel of the soft fur, closing her eyes to keep herself from continuing.  
"I don't want you to be hurt when I leave. We're too different, Toran. I'm not even from this place."  
"So?" he prompted. "Why does that matter?"  
"Because you're a prince. Have you forgotten? You'll be king, and I can't be a queen. Not of a group of people I hardly even know."  
"Then I'll refuse the crown. Let Solorne take it." Toran protested as Althea moved away slightly.  
"You know you can't do that." She looked at the ground again, her eyes burning. He looked so sad- his green eyes were wide as he frowned, looking a little desperate as he thought of something else to say. His ears were flipped back against his head, and he let out a small whining noise.  
"I… don't know what to say." He finally broke the silence between them.  
"There's nothing either one of us really can say anymore, is there?" Althea smiled bitterly, and glanced up at him in pain before walking through the door to the decks below. She walked over to her cabin room and shut the door quickly behind her, sitting on the bed and looking over to her backpack. How could she have done this to herself- to Toran?  
A knock on the door made her look up in a panic. What if Toran had followed her down here?  
"Althea? What's wrong?" Naru's concerned voice came through the door, and she regretfully stood and undid the latch to let him in.  
Naru paused when he saw her puffy eyes, glancing back behind him, as if looking at something down the hall. He sighed and walked into the room, closing the door behind him before walking over and sitting next to Althea on the bed, his tail feathers filling the sheets behind him.  
"What happened?" He asked, looking at her sad expression.  
"I don't want to hurt anyone when I leave. I mean sure you'll all miss me, but I shouldn't get too attached to this place. It'll only hurt you guys." She explained with a wavering voice.  
"Ah, you told that to Toran, didn't you?" Naru said in realization and faltered with Althea let out a soft sob, nodding.  
"That's why you're so upset. You really don't like hurting others, do you? You're too nice for that." Naru wrapped his arms around her gently as she cried into his chest. He sighed and set his cheek against the top of her head as he tried to think of what to say next.  
"You know, whether you leave or not, people here will still love you." He said after a long pause. "No matter what you do, that's not going to change. People get hurt when others leave, Althea. It's not something you can really stop."  
"But I can make it hurt less if I don't encourage it."  
"And do what, stay in this room for the rest of our trip? That's not living, Althea. After my parents died I had a hard time coping with it, but I got past it. Sure I still miss them, but I can look back on all the good times and smile." He ran a hand through her brown hair comfortingly. "Do you understand?"  
"So you're saying I should go on like normal, and try to enjoy it while I can?"  
"Exactly. I want you to be happy- more than anything. If that means you're with Toran, then that's fine with me." Naru muttered, but tightened his grip on her. "I will miss you when you're gone though. You helped me through a lot since I got out of that cell. You taught me that not everything I thought was right, and that good can take many forms- not all of them ones you'll recognize right away."  
"You too?" Althea sobbed again, but this time didn't push away.  
"What? You didn't know?" Naru looked down at her in surprise and sighed in frustration. "Toran and I both love you, in different ways. He loves you for your strong courage- I've seen him look at you when you talk to humanus that would terrify other humans. I love you for your kindness- how gentle you are with those around you."  
"But I'll-"  
"I know you'll leave." Naru interrupted. "I want you to leave, because I can see how much you worry about those who are back in your world. But pretending you're not here won't solve anything. Just be like you were before- enjoy things for what they are at that moment, and think about the future when it comes."  
"Alright, I'll try." Althea sighed, and leaned up, Naru's arms falling to his side to let her go. She smile weakly and looked down uneasily. "Since when?"  
"Oh... um… I suppose since you took such good care of my back when I was so wary of humans. I didn't understand why you would care so much- especially toward someone you didn't know. But Althea- this world is filled with much more dangerous humanus than anyone you've met so far. Don't be trusting with everyone you meet. You need a little suspicion every now and then."  
"But how do I know if they're bad? They might be good." Althea protested. She was never really good at judging people from a first glance.  
Naru sighed and chuckled, moving a lock of hair from her face gently. "I'll watch out for you. Don't worry about us, just worry about yourself. You need to look after yourself more, and care less for those around you. I know that sounds hard for someone like you, but just try, please?"  
"Alright, I will." Althea smiled, and bopped Naru playfully on the nose with her finger. He blinked in confusion before laughing, and glancing over to her backpack.  
"Now, how about you tell me more about those things in your bag? I've seen the… uh… Cimera? And the notebook of drawings. What else is in there?"  
"It's a camera, Naru." Althea chuckled at his confusion. "I have lots of stuff, let's look at some of the music in my ipod next… I don't know if you'll like it, but it's worth a shot." Althea hopped off the bed and grabbed her bag, sitting next to Naru again.  
"Women are so damn fickle." Toran growled as he took another drink from the tankard in his hand. Xicro sighed from across the table, looking very bored as Toran growled again.  
"She's all friendly for the longest time, and then all of a sudden she doesn't want anything to do with me. I don't get it." He grumbled, setting his drink down with more force than was necessary.  
"She just doesn't want you to be hurt, Toran. You said she had even mentioned that." Xicro watched his friend get drunk on is woes with a bit of annoyance. He hadn't seen Toran like this before, and he didn't like it.  
"Like I wouldn't get hurt anyway. That's part of leaving, is… is… leaving people behind." Toran tried to think on a fuzzy brain, and sighed. "I just don't know what to do."  
"Give her a little space for a bit." Xicro shrugged. "That's probably all she needs."  
"You don't get it! If I give her space, then the bird will move in." Toran bared his fangs in anger. "He's been after her this whole time too."  
"Don't turn her into some prize to be won, Toran. She's a lot more than that."  
"I know, I just get annoyed by him." Toran grumbled, and took another drink. "Besides, don't you like her too? You're with her more than me and Naru both."  
"No, I don't. For God's sake Toran she's over 15 years younger than me." Xicro wrinkled his nose in disgust.  
"Fine fine… I'm just saying…" Toran finished his drink and held it up for more.  
"I think you're done, stripes. Just water, please." He told the person pouring drinks. They nodded and poured water into the growling tiger's glass.  
"I'm fine." Toran mumbled, and took a long drink of water with a deep sigh. He set his cheek in his palm, leaning against the table. "So what do you think of her? She's too nice, I know that."  
"What do you mean? Bad things about her?" Xicro asked in confusion.  
"No, just in general. She's pretty different, isn't she? She's too trusting. She'll get herself in trouble one of these days with that. Probably why both me and Naru like her."  
"You like her for different reasons- that much is obvious." Xicro shrugged.  
"Like what?" Toran slurred.  
"You like her for her courage in the face of danger. Don't deny it, I've seen how you look at her."  
"Yeah, she's hot when she's angry." Toran grinned.  
"Okay… didn't need to hear that, but that's okay." Xicro rolled his eyes. "Naru likes her because she's nice to him. Not many people are. He's a humanus who can use magic- I think some people see him as a potential enemy because of that."  
"The bird couldn't harm a fly." Toran grumbled.  
"I know you don't really think that. You backed up just as much as the rest of us when he showed his magic for the first time."  
"Hmmm… stupid magic." Toran grumbled, his eyes starting to get droopy. "Besides, he's a wuss in battle. He freezes."  
"When he's not protecting Althea, yes. He seems to be fine when protecting someone." Xicro said thoughtfully.  
"I could protect her just fine without him." Toran muttered, and looked at the door with glazed eyes. "Maybe I should to talk to her again."  
"Uh… no. Not when you're like this." Xicro chuckled. "She'd just get annoyed with you. Come on princey, it's your bed time."  
"Quit calling me that." Toran growled, but didn't protest when Xicro pulled him from his chair to drag him down the hall. He glanced at Althea's door as they past, letting out a low growl when he heard Naru's voice from inside, and laughter.


	23. Chapter 23

Althea woke up, hearing yells from above, along with shrill screams. She quickly scrambled to her feet and opened her door to see humanus running toward the 'mess hall'. She watched Xicro past, his face furious as he ran forward.  
"What's going on?" Althea asked, joining him as he ran toward the room.  
"He's gone too far." Xicro growled, his fangs gritting together in anger. Althea looked at him in confusion before hearing a loud and familiar squawk from inside the room they were running toward.  
"Naru?" Althea yelled in concern as she ran faster, pushing through the crowds of humanus blocking the doorway.  
Naru was panting, his back faced toward the doorway as his hands glowed a bright gold, his tail unfurled to its full height, the tips of the feathers brushing the ceiling above him.  
"You're such a pushy jerk! Why do you always have to be right?" Naru yelled, opening one of his palms to shoot at the humanus on the other side of the room. Toran dodged the energy blast easily, the golden tendril burning at the wooden wall behind him.  
"You're the one to talk." Toran growled, his fangs bared as his hands flexed eagerly, his claws ready. "You always mess everything up. You're so flashy it makes my eyes hurt, and you can't do anything useful." He let out a yell, rushing forward and catching Naru on the shoulder, making Althea yell out in shock. She ran into the room, looking at both of them in horror.  
"What the hell do you think you two are doing?" Althea yelled in anger.  
"Stay out of this, Althea." Naru hissed, clutching at his shoulder as he and Toran circled around the room again, watching each other intently.  
"This is between me and him." Toran growled.  
"Like I care! Just stop fighting!" Althea yelled, stepping back in surprise when the two humanus met in the middle of the room, fighting talon and claw in a blur of blue and orange. Both of them occasionally let out a yell of pain as they fought, until Althea couldn't take it any more.  
"Stop it!" She ran toward them, pushing each other apart by their chests, but getting scratched by Toran's claws on her shoulder and Naru's talons on her shin. She yelled in pain and watched the floor to gather herself as the two froze in horror at what they'd done.  
"Althea…" Naru said softly, but she looked up at him with angry blue eyes.  
"Shut up, Naru. This is about me, isn't it?" She glanced to Toran, who was blinking in shock at her intense anger.  
When neither of them responded, Althea knew the answer. "Alright then." She growled, pushing them both away from her before walking out of the room, making her way through the crowd of humanus that had gathered at the doorway. Toran opened his mouth to call out to her, but stopped when she disappeared into the hallway.  
"Nice going, stripes." Xicro sighed, rubbing his temple with his fingers in frustration.  
"Birdy and tiger both lose." Izaho chuckled from the only standing tables. The rest had been upturned in the fight.  
Toran stood in shock, and glanced to Naru, who was looking at the ground with horrified eyes. He looked down as well and saw the talons of one of his feet covered in blood- Althea's blood. He looked down at his own hand and saw his claws running with it and swore harshly, ignoring the stares of the other humanus as he stormed out of the room.  
"C-can you take care of Althea? I think she's hurt." Naru said uneasily, looking up at Xicro.  
"Sure, kid. Just don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." Xicro said sarcastically, and made his way through the crowd to Althea's cabin.  
He knocked on the door, sighing as he wondered how badly Althea was hurt. Claws and talons were both sharp, and she had gotten wounded with both.  
"Go away! I'm not talking!" She yelled in anger through the door.  
"It's me, I want to make sure you're not hurt too bad." Xicro said, leaning against the wall beside her room as he heard the latch being raised, and Althea looked out at him, her eyes stinging from walking on an injured leg.  
"Probably a good idea." She said weakly, and let him in before closing the door again and latching it firmly. Xicro watched in concern as she hopped back over to the bed, sitting on the mattress before hoisting her leg up to look at the three furrowed marks in the skin.  
"That hurts pretty bad, but nowhere near as bad as my shoulder." She glanced at what torn fabric she could see, blood seeping into the white cloth. "There goes another shirt."  
"You can have mine after this. We'll use that shirt for bandages." Xicro took off his shirt, sitting on the bed beside her. "You're right, that's pretty bad. I'll go get some water, okay? Stay here and don't let anyone else in." Xicro sighed in frustration and walked out of the room, letting Althea close the door behind him again.  
He returned with a bucket of water, latching the door and sitting back down, putting the bucket on the floor beside him. He took the cloth from the bucket and wrung it out, taking Althea's leg and washing the talon cuts on her shin first. He hissed in pity at the trails of blood running down her leg, and suppressed the anger that rose up when he thought of those two fighting.  
"You shouldn't have barged into their fight like that." Xicro said softly as he ran the cloth over the cuts, doing it more gently when he saw Althea's face contort in pain.  
"How else was I going to stop them? Yelling obviously wasn't working." Althea growled in frustration, looking at the door in anger.  
"But you got hurt because of it."  
"Better than some little kid getting hurt. They can't fight like that on a ship, there's only so much space." She sighed as Xicro stopped rubbing the cuts and held his hand out.  
"What?" Althea looked at his hand in confusion.  
"Shirt. I need it for the bandages." Xicro said impatiently, wagging his hand to emphasize.  
"Not right now- you're right there!" She protested, folding her hands over her chest in horror.  
"Fine, I'll close my eyes or something. Just quickly, before the bleeding gets too bad again." Xicro sighed and closed his eyes, keeping his hand out.  
"Althea watched him for a minute before blushing and taking off her shirt, and quickly putting his on, making sure to keep it away from the gouges on her shoulder. She handed Xicro the torn and bloody shirt, who nodded in satisfaction and proceeded to tear it into strips. He wrapped the cloth around her leg, tying it before moving up to her shoulder, motioning for her to turn to face him. She scooted closer, flinching when he started rubbing her shoulder with the wet cloth.  
"He really got you good." Xicro muttered, finishing his washing before tearing more strips from the shirt and wrapping it around the injury.  
"Now, what will you do about those two?" Xicro asked, leaning back once he was finished.  
"Ignore them both. If they're going to make it into such a big deal, then so will I." Althea pursed her lips angrily.  
"Probably a good idea. That would be the worst punishment for both of them. Meanwhile, I'll teach you a little about what things will be like in the Okami kingdom- or… what I've read about, anyway."  
"Sounds good, I'll probably need to know a lot since I'm a wolf."  
"Actually, there's a good idea… turn into your wolf form, and let's mingle with the other humanus on the boat from the Okami kingdom. Pretend you're a long lost relation from the Tora kingdom. That way Toran will leave you alone, and you can ignore Naru. He's probably moping in his room anyway."  
"That is a good idea." Althea smiled, and walked over to her backpack to open the book for the chants.  
"Are they covered?" Althea looked down at the bandages that had been wrapped around her shoulder and legs- she had new clothes- Xicro's black shirt and a pair of Benett's rawhide pants which he had given to Xicro with no questions.  
"Looks like it." Xicro adjusted the shirt so that it hid a bit more of the white bandages on her shoulder. "You should be fine."  
"Okay, so I'm Carla from the Tora kingdom- I was raised by a cougar, was it?"  
"Yeah, a Cougar. Your story for Toran if he should get curious about a black wolf onboard is that you're from the Okami kingdom, and you wanted to see the world."  
"Okay, that's easy enough." Althea nodded confidently, walking out of the room and into the hallway. Though she knew no one would recognize her except for Naru and Xicro, she was still nervous. Was there a way a humanus walked that was different from how she was walking on the strange new legs? They had taken getting used to- it was like constantly walking on your toes, but without the risk of your shins getting to tired. Though it felt strange, it also felt natural somehow.  
"Good evening, m'lady." A chestnut hose humanus bowed his head slightly. "How are you?" he smiled sweetly.  
"Fine, thank you." Althea nodded back in response with her own smile.  
"I haven't seen you around the ship. Did you just come from the human country with the rest of the others?" He asked curiously, his long black hair falling over his shoulder as he tilted his head.  
"Yes, I'm with the others. Xicro here is from Tora as well." Althea motioned to Xicro behind her shoulder, who nodded in greeting.  
"Ah, wonderful. So you are new to Okami? If you have any questions feel free to ask." He smiled warmly.  
"Thank you. I'll probably take you up on that offer soon." Althea chuckled.  
"Very well then. I'm usually in the bale room, though it may look strange to have a wolf in there. You can meet me on deck anytime if you'd like." He held out a hand for her to shake.  
"Thank you, I'll keep an eye out for you on deck, then." Althea smiled. "By the way, my name is Carla."  
"I'm Michael." The horse smiled, and made his way down the hall again. Althea waited until he was out of sight before revealing her shock. What an oddly normal name.  
"Weird name." Xicro muttered, and put a hand on Althea's good shoulder happily. "That was very good! You have good people skills." He smiled.  
"Thanks." Althea grinned. She walked up the stairs on deck, and looked around. She froze when she saw Toran leaning on one of the railings, faltering before Xicro pushed her up onto the level above. Toran glanced her way, raising an eyebrow curiously before looking back out to the ocean. Althea let out a deep sigh of relief and Xicro chuckled, before walking up onto the deck beside her.  
"Calm down. There's no need to worry." He whispered as they walked past Toran, to the other side of the ship. She spotted a raccoon woman and nodded in greeting. The woman's eyes widened in surprise and she quickly bowed low, her long tail drooping to the ground. Althea bit her lip uneasily, glancing to Xicro as they walked up to her.  
"You can stand. It's no problem." Althea smiled to the raccoon as she nervously looked up at the wolf.  
"Yes, your highness. I wasn't expecting to see a wolf on board." She glanced around uneasily, as if expecting something bad to happen.  
"Ah well, I'm traveling to Okami from Tora. You see, I've never been there." Althea smiled.  
"R-really? But you're a black wolf. They would never let a black wolf out of the country."  
"Why?" Althea tilted her head curiously.  
"Have you no knowledge of the customs? A black wolf is destined to marry the white wolf. That is how our royalty works. When you go to the kingdom, you'll probably meet the prince. He's a white wolf."  
Althea blinked in shock and glanced to Xicro, who obviously hadn't known that either.  
"So since she's a black wolf, and she goes to Okami, she'll have to marry the white wolf? There's no choice?"  
"Well I've never heard of anyone refusing to be queen, but yes, I suppose." The raccoon looked at Althea with wide eyes. "I wouldn't refuse the crown your highness, the pack is not friendly to those who betray them."  
"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." Althea smiled sweetly and looked to Xicro in panic. He grabbed her wrist and walked her over to a place where no one would hear them.  
"I have to marry some stranger when we get there? That wasn't part of the plan!"  
"I had no idea that was their custom. What a stupid idea. What if both the white and black wolf are complete morons? There's no way to tell how a person is just by the color of their fur." Xicro growled, his yellow eyes wide as he thought. "We'll just have to ride along with it. Since you're not technically part of the pack, you can't betray them."  
"Good, because I am not marrying some complete stranger! I'd rather marry Benett."  
Xicro looked at her in amusement. "I don't think he'd agree, sweetie. He's with me."  
Althea boggled in shock, but moved on. "Still, how are we going to get around this?"  
"Well, maybe the prince won't like you. You never know."  
"With my luck, he probably will. I seem to be a magnet for male humanus." Althea groaned, running a hand over her face in frustration.  
"You do seem to attract them. But at least they're only the protective type. You could get the prissy type."  
"Oh don't even start. I hate guys like that. We'll see how this turns out- if it's too much, then I'll just keep out of sight until Toran's done with the Okami kingdom and we head back to the Tora kingdom. However long that takes."  
"Depends on the royalty there, especially the prince. Funny how everything always depends on one person?" Xicro muttered sarcastically.


	24. Chapter 24

Althea looked down at the ice in the water below them nervously, wondering if the ship would be able to take such huge pieces of debris. Hopefully they wouldn't wind up like the Titanic…  
"Hey." Toran leaned on the railing next to her, looking at her shoulder uneasily.  
Althea made no reaction other than her smile turning into a deep frown. The silence went on, until Althea shivered.  
"You're so angry you're ignoring me even when you're freezing?" He sighed.  
Althea glanced at him, but still said nothing.  
"Fine." Toran growled, but still stayed next to her. He started shivering as well and let out a loud growl of frustration before turning away and walking back down to the cabins below. He returned with a blanket, throwing it at Althea before walking back into his cabin.  
Althea looked down at the blanket as she shivered again and picked it up, draping it around her shoulders as she watched the chunks of ice in the distance. In the past few days things had been tense- She hadn't seen Naru since the fight, but Xicro had told her that he was still in his room. Toran had been the first to attempt to talk to her, but she had ignored him until he had left. She looked up in surprise as she heard a loud trumpeting sound in the distance through the large chunks of ice.  
"Calling horn, please!" The captain at the helm above her yelled, making a returning call with his own trumpet.  
The trumpet in the distance called two times, and the captain responded with one blow only.  
"We'll be there by nightfall! Everyone prepare for land!" the captain called out, the fox humanus looking around at those on deck.  
Althea cheered and ran below, dashing into her room to gather things in her bag. She took out the book and chanted into her wolf form, knowing that if she went on shore in her human form… well… bad things would happen. She stood up, hoisting the bag over her shoulder before remembering that she wasn't supposed to be recognized as Althea- who was the only one with a backpack.  
"Xicro?" Althea yelled down the hall. The panther poked his head out of his room down the hall. He widened his eyes at her being in her wolf form and ran over, closing the door behind him.  
"What's wrong?" He asked, looking around the room to see what was the problem.  
"I can't carry my bag out- it'll give away who I am." Althea bit her lip nervously.  
"Oh- that's a good point. No problem sweetie, I'll carry it for you." Xicro lifted the bag, putting one of the straps around his shoulder. "You go with Sora and Tobias onto the land. Umou is waiting for you to take you safely to the castle."  
"Castle?" Althea asked, her eyes widening. "You mean we're going straight to the capitol?"  
"Well of course." Xicro laughed. "Where else did you think the royalty was?"  
Althea shrugged, figuring that they would have to travel more before she would be forced to confront with the fact that she was supposed to marry the prince… whoever he was.  
"Alright, well I'll travel with Umou, Sora and Tobias. And Xicro…" Althea looked back before exiting the room. "Watch out for Toran and Naru, will you?"  
Xicro laughed, and nodded. He watched Althea run onto the deck before walking over to Toran's room and knocking on the door.  
"Yeah?" Toran said from inside.  
"We're going to shore in a little bit. Thought you should know." Xicro called out.  
"Alright, I'll get packed." Toran sighed.  
Xicro rolled his eyes at Toran's obvious moping, and walked over to Naru's room, dreading to see what was inside again. Naru had been acting strange since he had injured Althea. Not only was he not taking care of himself, he was constantly depressed- which was very sad-looking on a peacock.  
"Naru?" Xicro called through the door.  
"What?" The peacock said from inside.  
Xicro sighed and opened the door, seeing Naru sitting on the bed, his tail bent against the wall uncaringly behind him. His hair was twisted and unkept, the feathers looking scraggly from lack of attention.  
"Shore's soon. I'll go with you, alright?" Xicro said in concern. He didn't like the way Naru looked.  
"Whatever." The peacock sighed, putting his forehead back in his hands.  
"Hey…" Xicro looked at Naru in concern, walking over and sitting on the bed next to him. He sat the bag on the floor gently, knowing the things in it could be broken. "Cheer up. Althea's not that angry anymore. She'll probably talk to you soon if you give her a chance."  
Naru looked up at him, his green eyes dull. "Doubt it. Did you see the cuts I gave her? She probably can't walk very well."  
"I think you'd be surprised. Just try- but first you have to make yourself look presentable." Xicro ruffled his hair, trying to make it look somewhat normal, but only messing it up more.  
"You really think she'll be okay with talking to me?" Naru sighed, but his eyes were hopeful.  
"I think you should wait until we're settled into the castle. She'll need your guys' help, and Toran will be too busy with the wolves to help her out."  
"Why, what's wrong?" Naru looked up in confusion.  
"You know she's a black wolf, right?" Xicro said uneasily, wondering what Naru's reaction to this would be.  
"Of course." Naru nodded.  
"Well, apparently the black wolf is destined to marry the white wolf, who is apparently still single. That means that as soon as Althea shows her face, she'll be prompted to be married to whoever this white wolf is."  
"NO!" Naru stood, his teeth gritted in anger. Xicro leaned back in surprise, but smirked wryly.  
"If you care that much, then get ready to help her. You'll need to make a good impression on the wolves to stay near her, and you won't do that looking like a seagull."  
Naru looked at him in a panic and nodded, running over to the bucket of water and swirling some in the air in front of him until it stayed there, glowing a soft gold as it spun into a flat surface to reflect his image back to himself.  
"Go make sure Althea's all ready to go, and I'll preen. I'll meet you on deck when I'm ready, okay?" he said quickly, dipping his hand in the water and straightening his hair before starting to run his fingers along the feathers to put them back into shape.  
"Alright kid, just don't take too long." Xicro smiled, and walked up onto the deck.  
"Sora, Tobias, this is Carla. She will be traveling with us for her safety to the castle." Umou motioned to Althea, who smiled in greeting. Tobias glanced uneasily to Sora, who nodded back.  
"Yes, sir. We'll make sure she stays safe." Sora nodded confidently. "Nice to meet you, Clara. Are you from Okami?"  
"Uh, no. I'm from Tora, and I've never been to the Okami kingdom. I don't really know what will happen here." Althea said uneasily, hating to lie to Sora and Tobias. They both looked at her skeptically for a minute before shrugging and turning around as they sailed into the harbor.  
"Land ho! Departure will be on the port side- don't gather too tightly together." The captain shouted as the humanus gathered on deck.  
"Come, small one." Umou looked down at Althea, his eyes knowing as he led her through the packed crowd to the plank that was being set to the dock. Althea looked up at Umou in question, who only smiled and walked forward, watching the area around them for potential dangers. Althea tried to ignore the whispers of the humanus as she walked by. This was almost worse than when she had been a human…  
"You must be the newcomers from Tora the aquatics told us about." A sultry fox moved out of the crowd, her outfit stating her obvious high status.  
"Yes, she is making her way to the castle. Will she have rooms ready?" Umou said firmly. The fox looked up at him, her eyes widening at his height before nodding with another happy smile.  
"But of course. We have not seen a black wolf for many years- you're welcome in our kingdom, your highness." The fox curtsied gracefully before leading them toward the stone castle in the distance. It wasn't anything too impressive, but considering how young the humanus culture was, it must have taken a huge effort to build.  
Althea tried to ignore the stares of the other humanus in the city as she walked through the streets, sneaking a glance to Toran as the tiger moved by confidently, gathering even more looks and whispers from the gathering crowd. They walked up the stairs to the large wooden doors, which swung open in greeting at the group of humanus waiting to get in.  
"Welcome to Okami." A gray wolf nodded politely, looking through the crowd curiously as they walked in. He spotted Althea and grinned happily, making his way through the mass of people to her.  
"Greetings, m'lady. How nice to meet you. Have you been to Okami before?" He bowed over her hand, kissing the back of her hand gently.  
"No, I haven't." Althea smiled, trying not to act surprised at the sudden formality.  
"Well then I'll give you the royal tour. That is, after we have you greet the king and prince. I'm sure they'd be very interested in meeting you." He hooked his arm through hers gently, leading her toward the thrones at the end of the long corridor. Althea looked behind her shoulder at Umou, who smiled and made a motion for her to continue as usual.  
"Good evening visitors from the Tora kingdom. You are most welcome in our kingdom. I am Soru, the king of Okami, and this is Jan, the prince." The white wolf king stood, motioning down to the wolf beside him, who was looking very bored in his throne, draped with blue fabrics around him.  
"Yes, welcome to our kingdom." He said, looking through the crowd with drooping eyes before spotting Althea. He sat up quickly in his seat, his eyes wide as he stared.  
"You- what's your name?" He pointed toward Althea in the crowd, who took a step back in surprise at all the attention suddenly on her. Even Toran was looking her way curiously.  
"Uh- ah, Clara." She stammered out, her blue eyes wide as she looked around her.  
"Clara." Jan smiled, as if testing the name. "Soru, I think we should hold a ball in the guests' honor, don't you think? It would be a fitting place to greet and chat with them in a less formal setting." Jan smiled.  
"A very good idea, Jan." The king nodded in approval. "We will hold a ball in two days time. It will be something to look forward to." The king smiled in satisfaction at the happiness this brought to the humanus in front of him.  
"Excuse me, your majesty." Toran bowed before approaching the throne. "I believe I have an idea for our two kingdoms. However, it would best be discussed in private."  
"Very well, prince. The rest of you may go to your rooms and relax- I'm sure you're tired after such a long journey." The king said before letting out a long howl that echoed through the castle. Servants poured into the room, leading people down the many hallways that came off from the throne room to empty rooms in the castle. Jan glanced at Toran and the king before jumping down the steps of the throne, and walking over to Althea.  
"Hey babe, I'll show you your room. There's no need for formalities." The white wolf grinned, his fangs flashing. "After all, what are the odds of a female black wolf showing up a year before my coronation? It was fate." He took her wrist firmly, let gently and led her down a separate hallway than the rest of the group had gone down.  
"So, your name is Clara? I'm Jan- white wolf, prince of Okami. Just call me Jan though. I hate royal procession. So boring." He rolled his eyes before grinning back at her. "So, what's it like over in Tora? As bad as I've heard? The cats didn't mess with you, did they?" He frowned, suddenly quite serious.  
"Ah, no. No, they actually helped me quite a bit. That was how I got here." Althea smiled sweetly.  
"Gods you're cute, aren't you?" Jan smirked, and stopped in front of a large wooden door. "Alright, this will be your room. This isn't exactly the royal suite, but… we'll get to that later, now won't we?" Jan winked before opening the door and guiding her in.  
Althea looked around the room uneasily, and couldn't help but be amazed at the extravagant luxuries of the room- plush pillows on a large draped bed, a chair with a desk and several seats in the large room. "Wow." She whispered, looking at the painting on the wall of a black wolf king triumphing over a human foe.  
"Yeah, that was the king who created the Okami kingdom. He overtook the humans in this region and even built the castle." Jan said, looking up in admiration at the king before glancing back over to Althea. "But that's boring. You don't need to hear that story yet. If you'd like, I can get you a dress for the ball. There's no need for you to spend your money here. What's your favorite color?"  
"Blue." Althea answered, smiling in pleasant surprise.  
"How fitting. Alright, we'll get you a nice blue dress for the ball. I'll see you then, babe." Jan walked over to the door, waving before he walked out of the room and closed the large wooden door behind him.  
Althea sat on the bed in shock, her eyes wide as she continued to look around her. Great- she already had one foot toward the throne with this guy. What had she gotten herself into?


	25. Chapter 25

Althea looked up at the ornate ceiling above her as a knock sounded from the door at the other side of the room.  
"Hey… I wanted to see how you were doing." Naru's voice said meekly from the other side. Althea looked at the door uneasily before sighing and opening them, smiling at Naru weakly.  
"Not so good." She said, before walking back over to the bed and patting the mattress beside her for him to sit down. Naru looked around the hall, closing the door behind him as he sat beside her.  
"How's your leg?" Naru glanced down at the shin he had scratched with his talons.  
"It's fine. You're all right, don't worry about that. The problem at this point is the prince. He seems to think I'm destined to marry him." Althea said nervously, glancing at the doors.  
"Well, you are a black wolf. I hadn't known that there was a white wolf prince, though." Naru tried to act casual while he sat beside her, but didn't quite know what to say. He had decided not to try and persuade her to be with him, but to let her decide who she should be with. He would be okay with whatever decision she made, as long as she was safe and happy.  
"What's wrong?" Althea looked at Naru's sad face, and the peacock looked up in surprise, but smiled softly.  
"Nothing, just thinking. So I hear they're going to host a ball for us. Are you planning on going?"  
"I think I have to." Althea sighed. "I don't think Jan will let me stay here."  
"Jan?" Naru asked in confusion.  
"Oh, he's the prince. Really annoying, too." Althea rubbed her forehead in frustration. "He seems to think he's all that and a bag of chips."  
"Chips? Like… wood chips?" Naru tried to figure out what she was trying to say. Althea looked up and him and chuckled, shaking her head.  
"No, potato chips. Don't worry- it's an expression from my world meaning he thinks he's a gift to the world and everyone should treat him like it."  
Naru wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Sounds obnoxious."  
"It is." Althea looked up at the door as another knock sounded.  
"It's XIcro- I was wondering how you were doing." The panther said through the door, waiting for Althea's invitation before opening it a crack. He walked in, smiling a bit when he saw Naru looking up at him sheepishly.  
"I'm still not used to seeing you like that." Xicro grinned to Althea, but shrugged. "I heard they were having a ball. You know you'll have to go and dance with every eligible male there."  
"What?!" Althea gasped in horror.  
"There's no way." Naru protested, knowing how many male wolves would want to be with the famed black wolf.  
"Don't worry feathers, every eligible male means every prince. Too bad for the white wolf that means Toran too." Xicro chuckled. "However, the king thinks Naru should qualify as well."  
"Me?" Naru blinked in confusion. "But I'm not royalty."  
"On the contrary, your species- the peacock- was once the ruler of the avian kingdom before they merged into the Tora kingdom. It was a long time ago, but the last time the Okami communicated with Tora, the avian kingdom still had peacocks as rulers. Therefore, you're a prince." Xicro explained casually.  
"I didn't know that." Naru glanced at Althea, who sighed in relief.  
"So I don't have to dance with just Jan. Thank God."  
"Ah, the wolf's rubbed you the wrong way? He does seem to have an ego big enough for the crown." Xicro muttered in discontent.  
"No kidding. But this means I'll have to dance with Naru, Toran and Jan? I don't even know how to dance." Althea groaned in frustration.  
"Neither do I." Naru said, his eyes starting to widen in panic.  
"Don't worry about that, you can learn. Lucky for you I was close to the courts in Tora." Xicro grinned. "Plus I just love dancing." The panther said eagerly, a wide grin flashing fangs.  
Althea opened her room door after her dancing lessons, her padded feet sore from the exercises. She still wasn't used to these legs, and they made her clumsy when she tried to move around too much- which wasn't really different from her human grace. Naru had looked just as tired as her when they had finished, though. Apparently the ball was scheduled for tomorrow. Not that she would be able to get any sleep tonight, knowing that she would be the in the spotlight the entire next day.  
She glanced over at a flash of blue in the corner of her eye and looked over at a beautiful- if not low cut- blue dress draping over her bed. She marveled over the silk and lace, holding it up to her and actually started to look forward to the occasion. But for now it was time to try to sleep- tomorrow would be a long day. She walked over and locked her door tightly before chanting her transformation away, shaking out her human legs again in relief.  
She laid back in the bed, sighing at the deep cushions as she sank into the sheets. She looked up at the draping blue sheets above the canopy of the bed, biting her lip nervously as she went over the dance steps for the next day in her head, trying to lull herself to sleep.  
Althea growled in frustration as she tried to lace up the last string in the corset at her back, trying to reach around her shoulders and yet not scratch the fabric with her claws trying to grip it. She grunted with the effort, looking up when someone knocked on her door.  
"You almost ready?" Naru said uneasily from the other side.  
"Just about- I'm just trying to reach this…" Althea stretched herself one more time, straining her arm for just another inch of length. The effort made her topple over as she lost balance, landing with a thud on the floor.  
"Hey! Are you alright?" Naru yelled from outside the room as Althea rubbed her aching butt. She had landed on her tail, causing a painful kink in one of the bones. She looked up as Naru opened the door slightly, his green eyes peaking curiously into the room before opening the door more, seeing that she was descent.  
"I'm fine, I just fell." Althea growled in frustration again as she stood up, glaring over her shoulder at the corset behind her. "Maybe you should tie that?" She asked uneasily.  
"Sure." Naru smiled, walking behind her in his green and blue tunic and pants. With his blue feathered skin and bright green tail, he did look the image of avian royalty- no wonder peacocks had once ruled their kingdom. She felt his hands against her back as he tried to figure out the lacings, and waited patiently as he finished the tying.  
"There, all done." He patted her shoulder in satisfaction. "Are you ready for this?"  
"I guess so. I'm pretty nervous." Althea resisted biting her lip- almost forgetting her fangs again.  
"I'm nervous too. Don't worry, we'll be there for each other if the need arises." Naru smiled reassuringly, and motioned for her to go out the door first, him following after her and shutting it behind him. "You do look pretty though, if that's what you're worried about."  
Althea blushed, glancing to Naru with a slight smile. "Thanks."  
"I still like you the other way better, though." He said more quietly, as a wolf couple passed them by in the hall.  
Althea looked at the ground with a slight smile, hearing a loud shouting from the level below them as they descended the stairs into the throne room.  
"Here we go." Naru said, unfurling his tail feathers behind him as he took hooked his arm around Altheas confidently.  
"Titles?" A small mouse looked up at them, a charcoal resting against the paper in her hand.  
"Naru of the peacocks and Clara of the wolves. Separate, please." Naru glanced to Althea, who nodded in agreement. It would be best that they weren't known that they had come in together.  
"Alrighty." The mouse said busily, running over to a large horse standing in the doorway- who happened to be Michael from the ship. He looked at the paper and over to Althea, smiling in greeting.  
"Remember to lift your feet high." Naru whispered to Althea before walking ahead of her. Althea nodded, knowing that if she didn't she would wind up tripping down the stairs in her awkward humanus legs.  
A small trumpet sounded from beside him as the paper was passed down the line of horses standing along the staircase leading down into the throne room. Another trumpet joined it, and yet another as Naru waited patiently to be introduced.  
"Naru of the peacocks, from the kingdom of Tora." Michael shouted confidently into the room below, stepping aside to let Naru down the staircase.  
Althea stepped behind Michael, shaking slightly from nervousness at the crowd below her. There were at least a hundred people waiting in the ballroom below, conversing with each other as they waited for the festivities to begin.  
"Don't worry so much." Michael whispered as he passed the paper down the line again, this time five trumpets sounding. "I'm sure they'll love you."  
"That's the problem." Althea muttered to herself after Michael had turned back around, taking in a deep breath for added enthusiasm.  
"Clara the black wolf, from the kingdom of Tora." The horse shouted, and stepped aside with a quick reassuring smile to let Althea down the staircase. She faltered for a minute before taking a shaky step, trying to ignore all the eyes that had suddenly turned towards her in curiosity. She concentrated on each step as she descended down into the room, sighing in relief when she finally made it to the floor below.  
"Good evening, Clara." Jan bowed slightly as he approached her.  
"Hello, Prince Jan." Althea curtsied slightly as well, glad she had practiced the night before so she wouldn't topple over. First test passed.  
"Sorry for such a loud introduction. The king always insists on such processions." Jan glanced up at Michael with a slight huff of annoyance as the horse shouted another introduction.  
"Oh no, that's fine. Introductions are needed." Althea smiled sweetly, trying her best not to get angry at someone so aloof.  
"Indeed." Jan smiled back, but looked over his shoulder with a sigh of frustration as his name was called across the room. "I must go for now, but we'll enjoy a dance later on." He bowed again, and walked back over toward a group of girls across the room.  
Althea stood nervously, looking around at the groups of people around her, folding her hands in front of her as she waited for the actual event to begin. She jumped in surprise when a chorus of trumpets sounded and everyone turned toward the staircase and bowed, save Toran and Jan. Naru hesitated before rising as well, meeting Toran's curious glance.  
"Soru, the white wolf, king of Okami." Michael yelled proudly, followed by another sounding of the trumpets behind him. The king raised a hand for them to stop, smiling at those around him.  
"On this evening we welcome the guests from the Tora kingdom. Let our people embrace them in this dire time, and greet them with welcoming generosity." The king shouted, looking down at the people below for their reaction. He raised his arms confidently. "Let the ball begin!"


	26. Chapter 26

"First will be the royal dances." Michael shouted as he walked down the staircase over to the band at the other side of the room.  
"Hello, Clara." Jan said from behind her, making her whip around in surprise. He grinned at her reaction and held out a hand welcomingly. "Care to dance?"  
"Sure." She smiled, trying to hide her sudden horror. She had been hoping her first dance would be with Naru to try and ease into the tension of dancing with Jan, but he seemed eager to have the first dance of the night.  
He led her out to the dance floor, setting a hand on her waist and gathering her other hand in his with a soft smile. The music started, and he gracefully led her around the room to the beat of the song. "My sisters were wondering about you. They called me over to ask about you." Jan explained, glancing over to the giggling group of female wolves behind his back. Althea looked over his shoulder and grinned at the gathering of girls.  
"You have that many sisters?" She chuckled slightly. "Do you have any brothers?"  
"No, I'm the only son." Jan grinned, letting her twirl out to the steps of the dance and waiting for her to spin back to him before continuing. "What about you- do you have any siblings back in Tora?"  
Althea blinked in panic for a minute before smiling softly. "No, I don't really remember my family. I was raised by a cougar, so I suppose she was my only family." Althea said, trying to pretend to be sincere. She hated lying to a stranger, but in this case it was necessary.  
"A cat raised you? How interesting. No wonder you like them so much." Jan said thoughtfully, glancing to Toran as he drank something from one of the food tables.  
Althea nodded, not really knowing what else to say. Did the wolves have a natural disdain for the cats? How stereotypical. Jan looked up with a frown as the music faded, and he let go of his grip on Althea reluctantly.  
"Alas, I must hand you over to the bird." Jan glanced over to Naru as he waited to dance. The wolf took her hand, kissing it gently before departing with a polite bow. He glared at Naru as he passed, who narrowed his eyes as well, but smiled as he saw Althea's anxious expression.  
"Don't worry. Small steps this time, alright?" Naru unfurled his tail again as the music started, concentrating on the starting steps before smiling in satisfaction. "So, what did he say? You look pretty shook up." Naru looked up in concern to Althea.  
"He mostly talked about his sisters, and asked if I had any siblings." Althea said quietly, wondering how well the humanus hearing was.  
"Ah, I see." Naru nodded in understanding. "So he was talking to his sisters earlier?" Naru chuckled.  
"Apparently he has a lot of sisters. No brothers though, which explains why he is the way he is." Althea sighed.  
"How so?" Naru asked curiously.  
"Well he was born a white wolf, right? So everyone knew he was going to be king someday. If he had an older brother it might have helped, because older brothers tend to be good role models. As it was, he didn't really have a role model except what people were telling him. Get it?"  
Naru thought for a minute and nodded. "I think so. It doesn't mean he should act that way, though."  
"No, but it does explain a bit." Althea smiled.  
Naru looked over at the band as the song faded, and he let out a deep sigh, letting his tail fold behind him again. "I hope you'll be okay with him." The peacock smiled weakly up at Althea before walking back into the crowd that had gathered around them. Althea took a nervous sigh as Toran walked out of the crowd, glancing at Jan across the room before smiling down to Althea.  
"Hello, I'm Toran- prince of Tora." He bowed slightly, his green eyes flashing.  
Althea hesitated for a minute before curtsying back. "I'm Clara." She smiled sweetly, wondering if he was trying to flirt with her- even though there was no way he could have known it was actually Althea and not a black wolf.  
"Nice to meet you." Toran glanced over at the band, who started the music again. Toran looked around the crowd, meeting eyes with Naru for a second before looking back down at Althea's tense expression. "Something wrong?"  
"Oh, no. Not at all." Althea smiled sweetly, trying to act casual.  
"Good. You're a wonderful dancer, you know." Toran smiled warmly down at her, making Althea's heart sink. He was trying to flirt with the black wolf. Did he even care about her in her human form? Had everything he had said and done just been a façade?  
"Thank you." She said, her voice shaking slightly as she looked down at the ground to try and gather her emotions.  
Toran looked down at her sad expression and let out a deep sigh, letting her twirl out for the dance and waiting impatiently for her to come back to him. When she did, he saw her misty eyes and faltered for a minute before continuing.  
"You're still angry at me, aren't you?" He said sadly, his ears lowering.  
"What?" Althea looked up in confusion, her blue eyes wide.  
"You're still angry with me for fighting with Naru- is that why you've been acting like you don't know me?" He asked, his voice sounding slightly hurt.  
"W-wait- you know it's me?" Althea whispered.  
"Of course." Toran chuckled. "You can change your appearance, but you can never change your eyes. They show who you are, no matter what form you take." Toran smiled warmly down to her. "Though I have to admit, this is pretty good. Is this why you were spending so much time with Xicro and Naru?"  
Althea's breath hitched in her throat as she fought back her emotions, but couldn't stop the small whimper that escaped her. Toran blinked in surprise and held her tighter, trying to see her expression as she lowered her face again.  
"What did I say wrong this time?" He asked uneasily.  
"Nothing." Althea whispered. "You did nothing wrong, I'm happy. I thought you were flirting with Clara, instead of me."  
Toran smiled again, chuckling in a low tone. "No, I knew it was you since I saw you on the boat talking to that horse." He looked up in disappointment as the song faded, making sure Althea was calm again before releasing her from his grip. "We'll talk about this later- I'll ask Xicro where your room is, alright?" he whispered.  
Althea nodded, blushing as he raised one of her hands, looking into her eyes as he kissed the back of her palm. "Until later, Clara." He said in a normal voice, and walked back into the crowd.  
Althea walked back into the crowd as well, in a slight daze. Toran had known it was her the entire time? Who else had noticed she was different from the other humanus?  
"What's wrong? Did he upset you again?" Naru looked over at Toran as the tiger watched Althea closely.  
"No, well yeah, I suppose. He knew it was me. He's known for a while." Althea whispered, and Naru blinked in surprise.  
"Really? How could he tell?"  
"He said he recognized my eyes." Althea said uneasily, trying not to show how her stomach was flipping in excitement from what he had said.  
"Wow, that's kind of sappy, but I guess that makes sense. Your eyes are the same color as before, and so is your voice. He was bound to notice eventually." Naru shrugged.  
"Hello, peacock." Jan smiled in greeting. "having a nice chat with Clara? Have you two met before?"  
"Ah yes- on the boat on the way here." Althea smiled. Naru nodded in agreement, trying not to show his anger toward the wolf.  
"Oh, I see. So you must know her fairly well, then?" Jan looked to Naru curiously.  
"I suppose. We get along well, if that's what you're wondering." Naru shrugged casually, but there was a hint of harshness to his tone.  
"I suppose you won't mind if I steal Clara away for a minute to meet my sisters, then? They're asking me constantly about her now." Jan smirked towards Althea before turning a frown back to Naru.  
"I guess not." Naru said, glancing to Althea in apology, knowing there was nothing else he could do.  
"Very well. Follow me, Clara." Jan grabbed her wrist, leading her through the crowd toward the group of female wolves waiting across the room. Jan stopped in front of them, rolling his eyes when they looked at him with glares.  
"Don't drag her to us, you jerk. She's not a rag doll or something." The eldest scoffed.  
"No, it's okay, I'm glad to meet you all." Althea smiled as they all looked over to her with smiles.  
"You the new wolf?" A young girl looked up at Althea with a bright smile. She was generally white, save for a black patch around one of her eyes.  
Althea smiled softly, carefully kneeling down in her dress so that she was eye level with the little girl. "Yes, I'm the new wolf. What's your name?"  
"Izzie." The small wolf girl smiled happily. "You're nice."  
"Thank you, Izzie." Althea chuckled. "My name is Clara."  
"Alright Izzie, how about you go play with Hos? He looks lonely." Jan pointed to a small boy horse humanus in the corner, who was looking at the crowd of people nervously.  
"Okay." Izzie smiled brightly up to her brother and picked her skirt up before running over to the horse, saying something to him and then running down the hall away from the ball.  
"So, you're from Tora?" One of the other wolves asked, her eyes wide.  
"Yeah, I am." Althea smiled.  
"Have you met the tiger prince? Gods he's so cute." The eldest looked over to Toran with wide eyes.  
"Yeah, I've met him. He's nice, if not a little stubborn at times."  
"Sounds like Jan has competition." One of the sisters whispered to the others, and the group laughed as Jan glared at them.  
"Alright, alright. That's enough. I doubt the tiger prince would want to court Clara anyway, he'd have to deal with the wolf pack if he did." Jan growled.  
"Oh don't be so serious, Jan." One of the sisters frowned. "Besides, Clara can do whatever she wants. She's not being forced to marry you. That's so last century." She rolled her eyes.  
"She's the black wolf! What else is going to happen?" Jan growled in frustration.  
"Being the black wolf has nothing to do with marriage." Althea said stubbornly, making all the wolves look at her in surprise. "I want to marry the one I love, and it doesn't matter who or what he is."  
"Ooh, a girl after my own heart. There- you see, Jan? Don't think the world's laid out for you all the time." The eldest sister scolded. Jan was still staring at Althea in shock, his blue eyes wide.  
"So, you're going against the wolf pack?" he whispered, looking around as if someone else would hear him.  
"I'm not technically part of the pack, so I can't go against them." Althea said stubbornly.  
"She's got a point. She hasn't been invited, none the less accepted into the pack." The eldest sister said, making the other sisters nod in agreement.  
"That shouldn't matter- she's the black wolf-" Jan started protesting, but Althea interrupted.  
"And what if I wasn't? You wouldn't even glance my way if I were something else, would you? You just care about your throne and being the next king with your lovely black wolf beside you on the throne." Althea growled, and stormed off into the crowd. Jan raised a hand to stop her but sighed in frustration, glaring at his sisters.  
"You just wanted to meet her, you said all you wanted to do was meet her." He growled angrily.  
"We did meet her, and I approve. However brother, you can't marry her unless she loves you. This isn't the old days- we can have choices now. The king hasn't had a black wolf on the throne in his entire life- yet he's led us absolutely fine."  
"But no one's ever turned down the throne." Jan said in disbelief.  
"There's a first for everything, brother. Don't be so foolish." The eldest sister sighed, and walked off into the crowd to mingle. The other sisters glanced at their brother and walked off as well, leaving him alone to his thoughts.


	27. Chapter 27

Althea was back in her room, trying to untie the same knot Naru had made that morning. Had he tied some weird sailor knot or something? It was impossible to get out! She looked up as a knock sounded from the door.  
"Can I come in?" Toran's deep voice said from the other side, making Althea blush. Was it okay for the prince and her to be in the same room for too long unaccompanied in this kingdom? She supposed it would be okay.  
"Sure." She called out, and Toran opened the door, smiling when he saw her struggles. She was literally turning in circles, trying to reach further to undo the knot at her back.  
"Here- hold still, Althea." He chuckled, holding her shoulders to stop her and starting to work on the knot. He pulled at the string, laughing as he looked up at her.  
"How did you manage to do this?" He said in amusement, carefully working on the tied string.  
"Naru did, actually. I didn't realize he would make it so tight, though." Althea squeaked in surprise when he yanked again, pulling her toward him from the force. He laughed and pushed her away slightly again, leaning down to get a better look at the knot as he worked. Althea looked over her shoulder at him, noticing he was wearing a black and green outfit much like Naru's blue and green one from earlier.  
"There, all done." He stood up straight again, pulling the lacings out of the eyes and smirking when Althea took in her first deep breath in hours.  
"Thank god." She sighed, taking another deep breath just because she was able to.  
"I don't think you should wear those anymore. You can't breathe in them." He said seriously, taking the corset away and setting it on a nearby chair before returning back to her.  
"No kidding. I didn't really have a choice, though." She looked down at the remaining blue outfit, loose fitting against her body as it flowed around her. The corset had helped accentuate her curves, but it was constricting to the point of pain. She froze when she felt Toran's gentle hand against her neck, looking over her shoulder to see his soft smile.  
"I like your human form more. This doesn't seem like the real you." He said softly, running the pawpads of his palm along the black fur of her bare shoulders.  
"I can change back, if you want." Althea said softly, trying to ignore the shivers going down her spine from his palms.  
"Please?" Toran looked up at her, his green eyes warm. Althea hesitated for a minute before chanting the incantation to change back into a human. She stood on her normal feet again, once again shorter than Toran by almost a foot.  
"Plus I like you shorter." He chuckled, leaning down to put his mouth against one of her shoulders, moving her hair aside. "You're not angry with me anymore, right?" He whispered against her skin.  
"Ah- no, I guess. I'm not." Althea whispered, biting her lip at the closeness of him.  
"Good. Do you mind this? Do you want me to stop?" Toran said softly, looking up at her as she turned her head to look at him.  
"I don't know." She whispered, closing her eyes as she shivered again.  
Toran kissed her shoulder gently before standing straight and turning her around gently. "I thought about what you had said earlier, about me being a humanus and you being a human, and that you'll have to eventually leave. I thought that I should probably care about those things even a little, but… I really don't." Toran smirked wryly. "I don't really give a damn, and I hope you understand that. We'll get through what needs to be done, and when you leave I'll still be with you."  
"B-but," Althea tried to protest, but stopped as he put his finger against her mouth.  
"Just think about this- you're planning on leaving once we find the mirror, right?" He waited for her nod before continuing. "And until then you were just planning on not getting close to anyone and hope no one would miss you, right?" He grinned as Althea sighed and nodded again. "That will never happen. People will already miss you, Althea. Why not just try and enjoy yourself while in Sanrou?"  
Althea nodded, looking up at him mekely, remembering the same words said by Naru. "But you're still a prince." She whispered.  
"So? Why does that scare you so much?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her to pull her closer to him when she started moving away.  
"I can't be a queen. I don't know how to rule a country or anything." Althea said nervously.  
"You don't have to. That's my job, remember?" Toran smiled against her brown hair.  
Althea bit her lip uneasily, looking up at him.  
"Have you finally run out of excuses for why you shouldn't be with me?" Toran chuckled, looking down at her expression. "I want you to be my mate, Althea." He whispered, hugging her gently to him.  
"I just don't want to hurt you too much." Althea whispered, hoping being a 'mate' didn't sound like what she thought it sounded like.  
"I'll be fine." Toran smiled. "So?" he prompted.  
"I just want to hear one thing." Althea whispered.  
"What?" Toran asked curiously.  
"Do you love me?" She whispered, blushing slightly.  
Toran smiled, setting his palm against the side of her face before he leaned down, setting his lips against hers gently, moving away as he felt her shake. "Yes, I do." He said in a low tone.  
"I love you too." Althea whispered, making Toran grin happily.  
"Does that mean yes?" He said, hugging her tightly.  
"Yeah." Althea chuckled at his eagerness, hugging him as well. Toran let out a low growl from deep in his chest, lifting her chins lightly and locking his lips to hers. Althea moaned in surprise for a minute before melting into him as they kissed deeply, wrapping her arms around his neck for support as her legs started to wobble.  
"I know you won't understand, but I need to do something, okay?" Toran said, his voice slightly husky after breaking the kiss. Althea blinked in confusion and hissed sharply in surprise as he started kissing her neck gently, his fangs scraping softly against the her shoulder before nipping gently. She jumped in surprise, looking down at Toran as he chuckled against her skin.  
"Don't be so jumpy, I won't hurt you." He whispered, nipping again at the spot and leaned back up. He looked down at the small bite mark on her pale skin in satisfaction, running his palm against the side of her face.  
"There." He said, leaning down to kiss her softly again. He smiled against her lips, leaning his forehead against hers with a warm chuckle. "I'll never get enough of you."  
Althea smiled, but frowned when another knock sounded on the door. "It's probably Jan or something." She sighed.  
Toran growled in frustration, moving away from her as she chanted to turn back into her wolf form.  
"Come in." Althea called out to whoever was on the other side of the door, and blinked in surprise when she saw Izaho peak his head into the room.  
"Something strange about new people. Come see?" The lemur looked at the two and smirked. "Hope I not interrupt anything serious."  
Toran and Althea both blushed, and Toran shook his head. "Alright, let's go see what's so strange about the newcomers." He said, holding the door open for Althea to go ahead of him, and closing it behind them.  
"I don't see anything wrong with any of them." Toran sighed in frustration as he looked at the group in front of them.  
"Two in particular strange. Don't see them, though." Izaho looked around, his brown eyes suddenly bright.  
"I'll go into the crowd and chat, maybe I'll find them." Althea smiled, turning around and walking toward the crowd of people as Toran frowned.  
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Toran said uneasily, walking to the other side of the room, where other humanus were gathering from entering the hall.  
Althea looked around her at the different species, amazed at the variety of people around her.  
"Hello." A familiar voice made her whip around in shock, and a raccoon humanus smiled at her, fangs flashing. The silver fox behind him smiled as well.  
"How lucky that we found you so quickly. You really are very helpful, you know." The raccoon sneered, his red eyes looking Althea over curiously. "Now how did you manage to do that?" He whipped a hand out, grabbing Althea by the wrist. Althea gasped when she felt skin instead of fur from his hand, turning wide eyes back to the raccoon.  
"Sei?" She whispered in horror, struggling to get out of his firm grasp.  
"She's a smart one, isn't she?" Rain sneered behind her brother, in her silver fox illusion.  
"Indeed she is, sister. Now what should we do with you?" Sei looked around him before putting two fingers together, pulling Althea toward him as a small sliver of red magic sprouted from his fingertips. He set the side of his hand against her neck, chuckling at her struggles.  
"Fortunately for you, we need you alive. Now be a good girl and come with us willingly." Sei whispered, pressing the red glow against her neck, which hissed as it burned through some of Althea's black fur.  
"No!" Althea yelled, blasting blue magic around her, throwing Sei across the room to hit the wall behind them. He fell to the ground, unconscious as Rain stared at Althea in surprise.  
"She used magic! She's a human!" Rain yelled, smiling in satisfaction when a group of wolf guards ran over.  
"Who, ma'am?" One of the guards looked to Rain.  
"Her." Rain pointed to Althea, who backed up a step in horror. The wolves looked at each other skeptically.  
"You're sure, ma'am? She's the black wolf."  
"Don't you see? She's using her magic as an illusion. She's not really a black wolf. She's a human!" Rain shouted in mock panic.  
"What's going on?" Jan yelled as he walked into the room, looking at the group of chaos around Althea.  
"Clara, what's happening? Get away from her." Jan yelled at the guards, pushing them away from Althea as Toran watched in terror.  
"Ah- nothing, Jan." Althea smiled nervously.  
"Sir, she's a human- she used magic to hurt my friend." Rain pointed to Sei, who was just waking up across the room.  
"What?" Jan laughed in disbelief. "There's no way."  
"Sir, he has burn marks on his chest- from magic." One of the guards stood after inspecting Sei.  
Jan frowned, looking back to Clara in confusion. "Clara?" He whispered desperately.  
Althea looked to the ground silently, not able to bear lying to him again. He looked so hurt.  
"I see." Jan huffed, looking to Rain. "How do I know you're not a human- you could have done it as well."  
"You accuse me of being the enemy?" Rain gasped, backing up with misty eyes. "I've only just come to this country from fighting for my life against the very thing you accuse me of being. Are the royalty here really so cruel?" She whispered sadly.  
"Calm down, girl." Jan sighed, looking back to Althea. "Please, tell me the truth Clara. I need to know. Did you use magic- are you really what you say you are?"  
Sei smiled and murmered a spell, making Althea glow blue as her magic rose involuntarily to fight Sei's. Jan gasped and backed up as Toran yelled out in protest, but could do nothing but stay in the crowd and watch.  
"So you are a human." Jan said, his expression crumbling into pain. "And I almost-" He shook his head, his sorrow quickly turning to anger. "Take her down to the dungeons. Enemies will not be tolerated." He glanced at Althea, hatred burning his blue eyes. "No matter who they are."  
Althea yelled in protest as the wolf guards dragged her down a flight of stairs and into the cold stone rooms beneath.


	28. Chapter 28

Michael watched the wolf guards set Althea down on the stone slab in the middle of the cold and barren room. They tied her wrists down on either side of the stone, and backed away as Jan entered the room, holding a long whip in his hands.  
"One last time, Clara. Show your true form. Tell us who you are, and who sent you."  
"Please Jan, let me go. I don't want to hurt anyone." Althea sobbed as the guards pushed her down so that her head was lowered against the stone. How had this happened? Why hadn't they caught Rain and Sei instead of her?  
"Lies." Jan growled. "Tell me!" The white wolf stepped on Althea's black tail, making her yell in pain.  
"My name is Althea. I'm from Michigan, in the United States of America. I came through a mirror I found in a construction site, and met Toran. Please, Jan!" Althea sobbed.  
Jan hesitated for a minute, and leaned down in front of her. "You still haven't shown me your true form." He whispered to her.  
Althea looked up at him with pleading eyes, and chanted to let the transformation go back to her original human form. Jan looked her over for a minute, then looked up at one of the wolf guards holding the whip.  
"You say Toran knows your true form and didn't tell anyone? Who else knows?" Jan growled. Althea looked up at him, struggling against her restraints.  
"No! Leave Toran alone!" She yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks as she fought against the stone slab underneath her.  
"How touching." Jan sneered. "You're protecting the little prince. Well, I think you should worry more about yourself for now." Jan stood, nodding to the wolf guard, who unfurled the whip and swung it against Althea's back. She cried out in pain and Michael flinched at the blow, not able to watch as blow after blow slashed into her skin.  
Toran snuck around the corner in the stone dungeon, trying to find any sign of Althea.  
"They took her down here?" Naru whispered behind him. "how long ago?"  
"About two hours." Toran said, his fangs bared at the stupid white wolf who was responsible for this. If he hurt Althea in any way… there would be hell to pay.  
They waited until a guard passed by before sneaking around another corner, pressing against the wall, Naru unfurling his tail behind him so that it would be spotted if it trailed too far behind him.  
"What's that stuff on the ground?" Naru said quietly, looking down at strange crumbs on the ground, trailing off into the empty hallway in front of them.  
"I don't know." Toran couldn't kneel down and inspect it without being seen. "We'll follow it- maybe it's a trail." He whispered, pointing down the hall. They ran as quickly as they could, watching around them for any guards. They rounded another corner, standing face to face with three armed guards, who all bared their teeth in a growl. One grabbed Naru, who squawked in fear, struggling against him. The two others grabbed Toran, holding his arms as he struggled. Toran looked down at the end of the crumb trail, noticing in the adjacent hallway a trail of blood from someone being dragged down the hallway. It smelled… female… young… with the strange smell of sulfur and metal.  
"ALTHEA!" Toran roared in horror as his eyes followed the trail of her blood down into the hall, seeing Jan close a dungeon door and look up in surprise.  
"Well, well. The prince has come to save the day again, has he?" Jan chuckled as he walked over to Toran, who growled in anger.  
"Let her go- she didn't do anything to you." Toran hissed, his green eyes flashing.  
"No, but she could- and it's better to be cautious than dead. That is the policy of this country. Humans are held captive." Jan motioned behind him at the door.  
"What did you do to her?" Naru yelled, looking at the blood trail on the ground as well.  
"I convinced her to cooperate. Bring the bird into her room. Don't worry about her escaping, I doubt she's able to move much." Jan motioned to the guard, who started dragging Naru down the hall as well. Toran let him go without a struggle, knowing that Naru would be able to heal Althea- if she wasn't already too wounded.  
"Once she's broken, she'll be much easier to deal with. All I wanted to know is who sent her and what her true intentions were, but all she did was spout nonsense." Jan rolled his eyes in frustration. "So I gave her a little… persuasion." Jan patted the bloody whip at his side. Toran stared at the whip, anger rising in him until his eyes flashed yellow.  
"I'LL KILL YOU!" The tiger growled, slashing and biting those holding him captive, cat-like roars and growls sounding from him as he turned feral. Jan stepped back in shock, his eyes wide as the tiger fought out of his captors' grips, the wolves falling to the ground on either side of him with dozens of deep cuts. Tiger turned a snarling glare toward Jan, who crouched readily for an attack.  
"She's just a human! Why do you care so much about her?" Jan said in confusion.  
"She's my mate, and you hurt her." Toran hissed, his eyes rimmed with yellow as he circled around Jan, waiting for an opportunity to attack.  
"Mate?" Jan faltered before laughing. "Ah, I see. You're trying to start up the furso race again, aren't you? How sweet."  
Toran let out a loud snarl, pouncing toward Jan and knocking him to the floor. Jan looked up in fear at the tiger's crazed eyes. "You'll live for now, dog- but if you ever so much as lay a finger on Althea again, I'll rip you apart." Toran growled fiercely, standing Jan up and pushing him down the hall. Jan stumbled backwards for a minute before rushing up the stairs. Toran waited for a minute, making sure he didn't come back down before running over to the heavy wooden door, looking through the bars at Naru, who was glowing golden as he tried to heal Althea.  
"How is she?" Toran asked desperately, trying to see the figure lying on the ground beside Naru.  
"Not so good. They really went at her." Naru said, his voice cracking. "She might not make it this time."  
Toran groaned in pain at the thought of losing her, and yanked at the handle of the door. "It's locked." He said in frustration, looking around for the key. He heard a small 'clink' from behind him and turned around to see a set of keys that had fallen to the ground, and then looked up to see Izaho hanging from the rafters above by his knees.  
"You take care of Althea, and I'll make sure the guards don't bother you." Izaho said, his voice serious as he dropped to the ground gracefully, flipping midair so that he landed on his feet. He ran to the corner of the hallway, facing two guards who had ran toward the commotion they were making. Izaho spun kick them easily, landing swift punches until the wolves dropped to the ground. Izaho turned around to see Toran staring at him in shock at his adept fighting skills.  
"Come on, we don't have much time!" The lemur growled, his long ringed tail grabbing an approaching wolf behind him and throwing the guard against the wall while he still face Toran.  
Toran grabbed the keys off the ground, fumbling for the right key, swearing each time he struggled with the wrong one in the lock. He finally slammed the door open, running into the room as Naru continued to try and heal Althea, who groaned slightly at the bright light suddenly pouring into the room from the hallway. Toran looked down at her, his breath hitched in his throat as he looked at the blood pooling the ground around her. She was losing far too much- at this rate she wouldn't make it for much longer.  
"We have to bring her to a safer place." Toran whispered to Naru, who nodded and stood, watching Toran as the tiger placed his arms ever so gently around Althea, picking her up and looking down onto her pale face with an expression of agony.  
He glanced up at Naru with yellow-green eyes before running out the door, stopping when he approached Izaho.  
"We have to get her out of here to heal her better." Toran explained as the Lemur fought more oncoming guards.  
"Agreed. I'm getting tired of these guys anyway." Izaho sighed, adding another guard to the pile of unconscious wolves in front of him. "Follow me." He said, running down the hall, but stopping short when a large wolf stood, his sword bared. The humanus backed up uneasily from the wolf, Izaho unarmed and Toran not able to reach for the sword at his side with Althea in his arms. A loud bang sounded, and the wolf yipped before falling to the ground and clutching at his leg.  
"Gods I love this thing!" Benett cheered as he looked down at the primitive rifle in his hands, pausing to reload it before glancing to Izaho.  
"You alright, Izzie?" Benett asked as he filled the bottom of the gun with more red crystal slivers, loading a metal ball into it.  
"Could be better. We'll probably be leaving shortly- I doubt the wolves are too happy with us anymore." Izaho glanced at Toran over his shoulder, then back to Benett.  
"That's okay, I was getting tired of this place anyway." The burly humanus looked around him. "Should probably go get kitten, though. I'll meet you when you're ready- the usual call will do." Benett nodded to Toran as he turned around and ran back down the hall.  
"Kitten?" Toran asked in question, and Izaho sighed.  
"His nickname for Xicro. Ask them." The lemur smirked over his shoulder at the tiger before continuing his running down the hall, waiting for the others to catch up.  
Toran snuck down the corridors with Naru, occasionally looking down at Althea's pale face as she slept soundly in his arms. They had to be quiet- inside these rooms were the wolf sisters of Jan, and he doubted any of them would go against their brother. He flinched as a door opened, and a female gray and white wolf walked out of her room, looking at Toran and Naru in surprise, but her eyes widened in horror when she saw the human in his arms.  
"I knew he would be angry, but to do this…" The wolf said in disbelief, and motioned for the others to come closer. Toran looked at her skeptically before coming closer, surprised when she motioned for them to go into her room.  
Toran looked at her judgingly before walking into the room, looking around at the strange décor- drapes of red instead of this country's normal blue decorations fell across every surface in the room- herbs and spices wafted through the air from a burning stick in a small bowl on a desk in the corner.  
"Set her down on the bed- I'll call for Cleo." The wolf said, knocking on a separate door that was connected to the next room. A younger wolf answered, looking up at her in confusion before gasping when she saw Toran setting Althea down on the bed. Her older sister shushed her harshly, opening the door wider to let Cleo in as she walked back over to Toran and Naru.  
"We must act quickly- she has lost much blood, and will need treatment. Peacock, please continue your healing while my sister wraps bandages and cleans her wound. I will do the best I can, but there's only so much my abilities can do for her at this point." The older wolf sighed.  
"Wait- who are you? Why are you helping us?" Toran stood after making sure Althea was comfortable.  
"I am Clarisa- Jan's older sister. I am the most powerful mage in this country, though I can do little to help Althea at this time." She sighed.  
"How did you know her name?" Toran growled suspiciously.  
"Be calm. I am telekinetic." Clarisa answered simply, making both Toran and Naru pause in confusion.  
"You did not know? No wonder your country is having such a hard time." Clarisa sighed. "All humanus have a bit of magic in them- we are after all derived from humans. But because we are only half human, we do not have nearly the arsenal that they possess. Each humanus has one fit- I believe prince Toran, you have found yours today while fighting for your love." Clarisa smiled knowingly.  
"What?" Toran blinked, as Naru tried to focus on his magic, but still listen to them.  
"How did you fight off two armed wolf guards at once? Our guards are trained from puppyhood to be as strong as possible- yet you took them down with ease, did you not? That takes a strength far greater than any human or humanus could possess." She held her hand out, letting him follow what she was trying to say.  
"You're saying I have magic? That's ridiculous." Toran hissed.  
"Your eyes are rimmed with yellow- eyes cannot change color unless effected by magic- is that not the way it goes for all creatures in Sanrou?" Clarisa smiled as realization struck Toran.  
"So then… if I have magic, how did I not know before now?" He asked in wonder, looking down at his hands.  
"You did not need it before now." She shrugged, as if that answered everything.  
"Wait- if you knew Althea's name, that means you knew she was human." Toran said in shock.  
"From the moment I saw her in the crowds. I wanted to be sure at the ball before I approached her, but my idiot brother found out somehow." Clarisa looked at the ground as sudden anger rose into her blue eyes. "He can be cruel- he has not known love or kindness his entire life, save from his sisters. I should have risen him better than that." She growled.  
"No excuse." Naru muttered as he continued his magic, sweat starting to matt the feathers on his forehead from effort.  
"I agree, Naru. My brother was hurt, and so took it personally. He has been told his entire life that he is to marry a black wolf and become king. When he saw Althea… well… I think he assumed everything would fit into place after he took her as his bride."  
"That is all we can do for now, sister." Cleo sighed as she leaned back from Althea.  
"A little longer…" Naru murmured as he fought to stay conscious, his green eyes focused on the task at hand.  
"No, peacock. You must stay strong to heal her in the morning. Her bleeding is stopped, she will be alright for now." She rested her hand on Naru's chest and pushed him away slightly from Althea.  
Naru nodded and slumped as his magic faded from him.  
"You stay here with Cleo, I will go talk to my brother about this. The chaos must stop- honestly, he is such a spoiled little pup." Clarisa cursed as she walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind her.  
"I will bring you food. Is there anything else you might need?" Cleo said softly to Toran and Naru, who both shook their heads as they stared down at Althea while she slept.  
"She'll be okay." Cleo smiled hopefully. "I have good healing powers, but I already used them today on someone else. I'll help you tomorrow, Naru." She smiled sweetly before walking back into her own room, then walking down the hall as well.  
"I thought it was pretty strange you were able to fight them off so easily." Naru snickered. He looked up at Toran, and down at Althea as she lay on the bed. "I didn't bother to heal your mark. I figured you'd want to keep it there." He said uneasily, his green eyes glancing to the wooden floor.  
Toran looked to Naru in surprise and nodded, moving a lock of brown hair from Althea's face as she slept. "Some mate I am- she nearly died." Toran growled in frustration. "She keeps getting hurt while she's here- how am I supposed to get her back home?"  
"Do you really want to bring her back to her world?" Naru looked at Toran, his eyes skeptical.  
"It's what she wants." Toran said sadly, but knew deep down he didn't want her to leave him- ever.  
"I still wonder what her world was like. To be so surprised by everything around her- how different was her civilization from ours?" Naru said thoughtfully.  
"I have no idea." Toran said in exhaustion, bringing over a chair from the other side of the room and setting it next to the bed before falling into it, slumping down into it tiredly.  
"Sleep, Toran. I'll keep a watch out for any danger." Naru smirked at Toran's sudden exhaustion. "Welcome to the world of using magic- it wipes you out, doesn't it?"  
"Toran nodded, his eyes droopy as they faded back to their normal dark green, leaning over the bed next to Althea and falling into a deep sleep.


	29. Chapter 29

Toran woke up to a hand going through his brown hair softly, running along his ear before traveling down to the side of his face. He tensed and sat up, blinking in surprise when blue eyes filled his vision.  
"Althea?" He said hopefully, relief filling him.  
"Yeah." She whispered, her voice slightly raspy as she leaned slightly away and smiled. "You saved me again." She chuckled.  
Toran moved out of his seat quickly, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly, but was sure to put his arms against the lower part of her back so he wouldn't hurt her. "For a minute, I thought…" He whispered against her hair, remembering the intense mixture of dread and anger when he had seen her blood smeared against the ground.  
He relaxed when Althea brought up her arms around him as well, smiling against his chest and leaning into the solid strength of him. "No, I'm still here." She whispered against his black and green tunic.  
"You know, for calling me flashy and obnoxious all the time, you sure can ignore me pretty well." Naru chuckled sarcastically from the other side of the room. Toran suddenly tensed and looked over his shoulder, seeing Naru wring out another cloth as he washed what they had cleaned Althea's back with. Toran released her as he smiled, resting his forehead against hers affectionately before leaning away. They looked up at a tap on the window, Naru blinking in confusion as to what could be outside the tall tower, wanting to come in. He stood and saw a ringed tail bobbing back and forth outside the window, rolling his eyes and opening the glass pane to let Izaho in.  
The lemur swung in easily, landing on his feet and looking around the room before relaxing. "Girl okay?" He looked toward the bed and smiled when he saw Althea was awake and well. He walked closer, looking her over with his brown eyes before satisfied. "I came to tell you that I'm sorry I started all this. If I hadn't told you I thought a few of the new humanus were strange, you wouldn't have gotten caught." Izaho frowned.  
Althea blinked in shock at the suddenly sane and direct version of Izaho, but nodded. "It's no problem, it wouldn't have lasted forever anyway- I'm too different, and I hate lying all the time like that." She sighed.  
"Not that different." Toran grumbled.  
"Izaho glad." He smiled broadly, and looked suddenly up at a knock on the door. His large ears perked and he relaxed when a pause then a fourth knock told it was Carlisa. Izaho walked over and opened the door for her, who walked in and shut it quickly behind her. She looked up in confusion at the lemur.  
"How did you get in here?" She wondered.  
"Climbed." Izaho pointed toward the window. "But should get back." He nodded- then looked to Toran, his crazed eyes suddenly calm. "Take good care of her, prince." He said, then swung back out the window, his tail closing the pane of glass behind him.  
"What a strange person." Carlisa wondered, her eyes wide.  
"That's an understatement." Naru chuckled. "Izaho can be a little… well… crazy sometimes."  
"No- his mind was…" She shook her head, as if trying to get back to her thoughts. She looked over at Althea, who smiled in greeting.  
"Good morning, Althea. I'm glad to see you awake again." The wolf walked over to her, setting the herbs she was carrying on the table beside the bed.  
"Again? She was awake once already?" Toran frowned.  
"Yeah, you sleep pretty deeply, don't you?" Althea chuckled.  
"Well, with what he went through, it's no surprise." Carlisa smiled, but paused at Althea's concerned expression. "Nothing bad, dear. He used a lot of magic to get to you- more than he probably should have."  
"Wait- what?" Althea blinked in confusion. Toran sighed, knowing this would come as quite a shock.  
"Apparently humanus have a bit of magic too." He watched her expression as she gasped in surprise.  
"When did that happen? You used magic?" Althea smiled happily.  
"I didn't know until afterwards." Toran chuckled at her happiness.  
"He used great strength to get to you- taking down two wolf guards at once." Carlisa smiled as well, starting to grind the dried herbs together to mix them.  
"Really? You didn't get hurt, did you?" Althea looked Toran over, but saw no injuries.  
"No, I didn't. " He said reassuringly.  
"They sure did though. You really scratched them up. You should have seen Jan's face, Althea." Naru snickered as he remembered the wolf's shocked expression.  
"I took care of my idiot brother. He won't bother you anymore." Carlisa said, growling slightly at the mention of Jan. "I still cannot believe he did this… I had no idea he could be so cruel."  
"OH! I almost forgot!" Althea sat up suddenly, but winced in pain before continuing. "The people who Izaho thought were weird- he was right! It was Sei and Rain disguised as Humanus- a raccoon… and a… fox, I think. Yeah- a silver fox. They're here somewhere." Althea said, and Toran stood, suddenly alert.  
"They must be here to take you." He growled, but knew they couldn't get to her while she was in this room.  
"Calm down, prince." Carlisa rolled her eyes. "Is he like this all the time?" She looked over to Naru in frustration.  
"All the time." Naru grinned, walking over to see what Carlisa was doing. "I was wondering- is the kingdom angry with the Tora guests?" Naru said casually, but knew the question held more than he was making it out to be.  
"No, I don't think so. Jan and the king are just confused. Humans have been our sworn enemies for decades, and we've done a pretty good job at keeping them out. Besides, I'm the advisor to both of them, so they'll listen to me when I explain things." Carlisa stopped grinding the herbs, bringing the bowl up to sniff it and nodded in satisfaction. "Though you both say she's different from the other humans… how so?"  
Toran and Naru glanced at each other before Toran nodded to Naru, telling him silently it was alright to tell the story.  
"Althea is from another world- she traveled to Sanrou through a mirror she found in her world. Before she was here, she had never seen a humanus, and didn't even know magic existed." Naru explained, watching Carlisa's eyes widen at the story.  
"So… you are from another world?" She said in wonder, looking to Althea, who nodded meekly. Carlisa looked at the ground, her blue eyes still wide as she tried to think. "Would you be so kind as to let me see your memories?" She said hopefully. Althea blinked in shock, and nodded cautiously.  
"You can see my memories… all of them?" She said warily, wondering how Carlisa would react to seeing her world.  
"Only the ones you want to show me." The wolf nodded, and walked over to her, setting her hands on either side of Althea's head as Toran moved away, watching carefully. Althea felt the strange sensation of having her brain searched through, making her shiver from the feeling. Carlisa gasped, her eyes wide and blank as she watched something in Althea's mind.  
"What- what do you see?" Naru said curiously, moving up beside her.  
"Castles as tall as the sky… flying birds of some sort that carry humans across the ocean in a matter of hours… some sort of thing they use to travel faster than any horse. Is this really way your world is like?" Carlisa took her hands away from Althea's head, her eyes till wide, but now focused on Althea.  
"Well, yeah. We don't have any magic there, so we had to make life better through other means. We made inventions that make things easier." She shrugged casually.  
"There were so many people too- is it like that all across your world?" Carlisa asked eagerly.  
"Oh no, there's sometimes many more." Althea smiled at the wolf's reaction.  
"But… that would mean millions and millions of people."  
"Last I knew the population of my planet was 6 billion." Althea said, watching Naru and Toran's boggled expressions.  
"That many humans can live in one place?" Toran whispered, trying to think through it.  
"No wonder the buildings are so tall, there's no more room on the ground." Naru chuckled in amusement, and glanced to Carlisa.  
"Is there a way to show that memory to someone else now that you know what it looks like?" He asked, and Carlisa nodded warily.  
"Show it to Jan. He has to know that Althea is from another world- and that's more proof than anything else you'll ever come up with."  
"That's a very good idea." Carlisa smiled happily to Naru, who blushed and nodded at the compliment. "I'll bring Jan here so you can see his reaction as well, and try to explain things. Don't worry Toran, I'll keep him under control." Carlisa stood, faltering when she saw Toran's dark expression.  
"If he tries to hurt her again…" The tiger growled, shifting restlessly in his seat beside Althea.  
"I give you permission to do what you please with him. He has to learn to trust humans- even if it kills him." Carlisa said, her voice wavering at the last part. She departed from the room, closing the door firmly behind her.


	30. Chapter 30

Toran held his arms around Althea protectively as Carlisa knocked four times onto the door before coming in.  
"Let me go, Carlisa! I don't want to see whatever you saw!" Jan growled as Carlisa dragged him into the room by one of his wolf ears, yanking on it painfully when he struggled against her.  
"You have to, _dear brother_. It's for your own good that you see her world." Carlisa threw him further into the room by his ear, making him yelp in pain and glare at her as he glanced warily toward Toran and Althea.  
"Now stay still, or I'll tell the pack what you did with the crown when you were with those girls." Carlisa sneered, making Jan's eyes widen as he nodded quickly. He grumbled as he waited for her to get this over with, and Carlisa let out a soft sigh of frustration.  
"I don't like you being in here anymore than you do." Toran growled at Jan as the wolf glared at him again. "If you so much as lay a claw on Althea- I'll-"  
"Enough!" Carlisa yelled, throwing up her hands on annoyance. "This will not work if you two are bickering constantly. Althea's world is the key to the peace in this world- don't you see it?"  
"What do you mean?" Althea said in confusion.  
"Your wars are much like this one, my dear. One in particular that is the most similar- World War II, was it?. I want to show Jan the outcome of that war, and maybe he will finally understand what must be done." Carlisa glared at her brother.  
"Wait- that is the second world war? What was the first?" Toran blinked in shock.  
"It's a long story." Althea sighed. She doubted Toran would understand the stereotypes and long fueled rivalries between the countries involved.  
She looked up as Carlisa put a hand on her forehead, setting her other hand on Jan's. "Now hold still, the both of you. This is much harder than it looks." Carlisa muttered as she started to focus.  
Jan jerked at the images coming into his mind, his eyes widening in horror. He knew he couldn't struggle against Carlisa, but the horror pouring into his mind was beginning to be too much- thousands dying… enslaved and killed for research… burning… burning… for what? For one man's hatred of their people… humans killing humans, by the millions. Sending their remains back to their family to taunt them and send them into submission through despair. The help of one country turning the tide of the war- hope beginning to flutter in people's minds as they fought. Finally- the outcome of the war and the peace afterwards, releasing those once captive to live freely again and tell their story to others to prevent this from happening again. Yet the toll of the war could be seen everywhere you stepped. The price to stop hatred was high, but well worth the cost.  
Carlisa finally took her hand away, making Jan stagger back in shock at what he had seen. He hardly even realized when Carlisa wobbled on her feet. Naru squawked in surprise, running forward to catch Carlisa as she fell to the ground. He set her gently against the wall, as Jan finally looked up, his blue eyes wide as he stared at Althea.  
"All that really happened?" He whispered.  
"Yes, and more. Some of it isn't allowed to be told to people as young as me, so there's much more than what you saw. All I have in my memories is from the History Channel and school."  
"How many died?" Jan said, dreading the answer, but needed to know just the same.  
"In the war? I think it was something like 50 million or so. You can't really know for sure."  
"No- the…" Jan looked away nervously to ask the question.  
"Oh- um… 9 million, I think. I'm not sure." Althea looked in concern at Jan's expression- of despair and horror.  
"I have to talk with the king. Althea- you have to get back there- if that's what's happening here…" Jan looked to her and Toran, noticing the small mark on her neck. He turned quickly to Toran, his eyes suddenly fierce.  
"Do not hesitate, Toran. This place is too dangerous for her now." The white wolf growled, and left the room quickly, shutting the door behind him.  
"What did he see?" Toran looked at the door Jan had gone out of in surprise at the total transformation of the wolf's attitude.  
"He saw hatred- in its most brutal form." Carlisa said softly, waving off Naru with a smile. "I'll be fine. I'm just tired. Althea, I'd like you to meet someone who may know something about where the mirror back to your world is." Carlisa looked up to Althea.  
"Really?" Althea said hopefully, but felt the sudden tension in Toran. She glanced to him to see his face back to its normal masked seriousness, hiding his emotions from her. He had known this would come- why was he acting so tense all of a sudden?  
"Yes- he has a link to the others that must meet you as well. He is one of the mystics, and it will take some time to send for him…"  
"The mystics?" Toran said in a mixture of relief and skepticism. "Don't go telling Althea that myths are reality- they don't exist."  
"Of course they do, I've met them." Carlisa said, as if offended.  
"What are the mystics?" Althea looked at everyone in confusion.  
Naru sighed, leaning back from Carlisa when he was sure she was alright. He stood and sat back in his seat again, careful not to wrinkle his tail. "The story goes that the mystics were made by sorcerers who wanted the ultimate challenge. While everyone was making humanus out of regular animals, he made them out of mystical animals- those that are already intelligent enough for conversation, but lack a humanoid body."  
"They turned some mystical creatures into humanus- they are immortal- they remember everything that has happened since their creation, and sometimes even the future." Carlisa continued for Naru.  
Naru blinked in surprise at Carlisa. "Didn't know that part."  
"Only Alabast can see the future at this point, and he tells the others what he saw." She shrugged. "There are only three of them- Aviflores, Kyshak and Alabast. Aviflores and Kyshak are mates- they are pure opposites and were made to be together. Literally."  
"So… what are these guys?" Althea asked.  
"Aviflores and Kyshak are both unicorns- though Kyshak as wings as well. Alabast is a dragon." Carlisa said simply, but Althea gasped in surprise.  
"A unicorn? Serious?" She grinned happily. Toran chuckled at her sudden enthusiasm, tightening his grip around her affectionately. "You like unicorns, huh? I wouldn't have thought your world had them."  
"Ah, there's stories of them, but there aren't any actually unicorns." Althea said, slightly disappointed.  
"I'll bring you to see some unicorns sometime. They're in Tora all the time." He whispered, laughing when Althea bit her lip anxiously.  
"Alabast is hard to find, though. He is the only link that I know of to Aviflores and Kyshak, so we have to find him first." Carlisa stood, looking to Althea and Toran with a soft smile. "I'll go tell Jan- perhaps he'll know how best to summon the dragon."  
"Good idea. Sounds like the guy knows what to do." Naru nodded in agreement.  
"Very well- I'll be back shortly." Carlisa said, walking out of the room and making sure the door was latched securely behind her.  
"What else is in this world? Unicorns and dragons? Are there manticores, gorgons and griffins too?"  
"Uh- I don't know what those are." Toran blinked in confusion.  
"Oh- bummer! I guess it's okay if manticores and gorgons aren't here since they're bad- the gorgons can be _really_ bad- but I was hoping to see a griffin! They're so cool." Althea said quickly in excitement, but flinched in pain as the wounds on her back opened again.  
"Calm down." Toran grumbled, moving away to move the bandages away from her back, growling in frustration when he saw blood seeping from one of the marks on her skin. "You overdid it."  
"I'm just excited." Althea pouted. "I've been into mythology my whole life- and now I can really meet a unicorn and a dragon." She said happily. "My mom got me into mythology when I was really little. She would get me books all the time."  
"Your mom sounds nice." Toran said absently as he concentrated on trying to stop the bleeding again.  
"Yeah." Althea said, her tone suddenly sad. "I do miss them. I wonder if they think I'm dead or not?" She whispered.  
Toran looked up at her, suddenly in a panic "I'm sure they don't." he said, trying to keep her from crying. Whenever he saw her crying, his heart wrenched into knots- it wasn't a pleasant sensation. "We'll get you back home, Althea. You'll see your parents and little brother again." Toran ran a hand through her long brown hair soothingly, setting his cheek against the top of her head. She nodded, looking over to Naru who was smirking as he tried to busy himself mixing more herbs.  
"I want to solve this war first, before I go back." Althea whispered, but both Naru and Toran looked up in surprise.  
"But it's too dangerous- we have to go into the human country again and-"  
"I don't care." Althea insisted. "I know it's dangerous. I know the risks I'm taking, but I can't stand to just leave you guys when you'll need me the most. Even if we find the mirror before then, I don't want to go back until I know everything will be better." She said firmly, raising her chin stubbornly. She was expecting protests- especially from Toran, but all she heard was a chuckle of amusement.  
"Alright, agreed." He said with a warm smile.


	31. Chapter 31

Naru looked up in surprise when someone ran up to the door and opened it quickly.  
"Alabast is already here!" Carlisa panted for air after running the entire way back.  
"How is he already here? I thought you said he's hard to contact." Toran said skeptically.  
"He knew she was coming." The wolf smiled at their expressions of shock, and looked uneasily to Althea.  
"They know she's human though- won't they try to kill her again?" Naru said, making Toran growl low in his throat in anger.  
"They wouldn't dare. Not while Alabast is here asking for her. Come on- he's waiting for us, and I'd rather not keep the dragon waiting." Carlisa said uneasily, motioning for them to follow her. Naru looked uneasily to Toran as they started following Carilsa, Toran watching Althea's every movement to make sure she was alright to walk as they went out into the hall. As soon as they went down into the main hallway toward the throne room, it was obvious something was going on.  
"I do not care about the trifles of your petty kingdom." A gruff voice growled.  
"So you say you do not wish to align with Okami?" The king's voice said loudly, as if for all to hear.  
"I do not align with any kingdom. Your reign will end quickly enough, and the world will finally have peace." The voice growled, and a heavy silence followed. "Now where is the girl? I must speak with her."  
"She's right here!" Carlisa yelled, raising Althea's hand above her head. Toran tensed at making such at pronouncing Althea's location to people who could potentially try to capture her again, but relaxed when the crowd blocking their way parted slowly. As the last few humanus got out of the way, they revealed a tall green-scaled humanus, his large black bat-like wings twitching behind him in annoyance at the king in front of him. He looked to Althea and raised an eyebrow curiously, as if not seeing what he was expecting. "She is with the Tora prince?"  
"Yes." Toran said confidently, looking curiously at the large black horns sprouting from the green humanus' long white hair. He obviously had to be Alabast.  
"Then we are already ahead of schedule." Alabast said with a thoughtful nod. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Alabast the dragon. I have seen much about you, young one, and I looked forward to meeting you. Though you are in… worse shape than I thought you would be." The dragon's yellow eyes noticed Toran holding Althea up for support. "What is the reason behind this?"  
"The wolves tried to kill her because she was a human." Toran growled. Alabast glanced to the king, fury entering his wild eyes. A small plume of smoke emitted from his nose, as if he was holding back a spout of fire. "I see." He said gruffly, and looked back to Althea. "We will have Aviflores fix that easily. I have come to take you to her. The others of course may come as well." Alabast looked to Toran, obviously please about something.  
"I don't think she should be traveling very much in her condition." Toran shook his head in disapproval. Alabast looked surprised by his protest, but nodded thoughtfully.  
"Forgive me- I am not used to thinking in mortal terms. Of course she should not travel with her wounds- I will just have to bring them here instead." Alabast sighed, reaching into the pockets of his black pants, and pulling out a small gemstone. He held the stone up to his face, whispering something before starting to talk in a normal tone:  
"Aviflores, Kyshak- I've found her. I think you finally got it right this time." Alabast glanced to Althea, ignoring the shrill squeal coming from the gemstone in his hands. "I suggest you come here and see for yourself. She's already with the Tora prince, so things are starting to speed up faster than expected."  
"Expected?" Toran growled, not liking the idea that he was 'expected' to do anything- none the less ask Althea to be his mate.  
"We will be there shortly." Another male voice answered, talking over the speeding speech of a female voice in the background. "Aviflores insists on bringing something to ask the girl about, so we will be there as soon as she finds it."  
"Do not expect too much from the girl- the wolves attacked her and she is in bad condition. Aviflores will have to heal her as soon as she gets here."  
"They WHAT?" The female voice yelled. "Why?"  
"Because she is a human in humanus territory. Things are not well understood in this kingdom, apparently. I'm afraid we may have left the wolves alone for too long."  
"These things can be fixed. For now, we'll talk to the girl about what is to happen." The other male voice said from the gem. Alabast nodded in satisfaction and put the gem back into his pocket.  
"They will be here momentarily. For now, I think you should take this." Alabast took a small vial of liquid from his pocket, handing it to Althea. "That will heal some of the lesser wounds."  
"Thank you." Althea smiled to the dragon, flinching when a bright flash filled the space beside Alabast. A woman ran out of the flash, grabbing Althea by the shoulders and looking her over thoroughly.  
"How badly are you hurt, dear? Are you in peril?" The woman asked, not able to see any wounds directly.  
"Uh…" Althea was struck by her appearance- she seemed to have no shadows, but instead small rainbows where darkness would have been. Her hair was strands of any color imaginable, and she looked down at Althea with bright pink eyes.  
"Calm down, Avi." A male voice sighed from behind her. "She is too shocked to reply." The male humanus smiled crookedly, his yellow eyes amused against his pitch black skin, and yellow hair. Two large black wings sprouted from his back, which folded neatly against his shoulders.  
"Ah, right." Aviflores leaned back from Althea, though still looked uneasy. She stepped back until she was standing beside the black unicorn, and smiled sweetly. "My name is Aviflores, the light unicorn humanus. This is my mate Kyshak, the shadow unicorn humanus." She motioned to the humanus beside her, who nodded in greeting. "We've been trying to search for the person Alabast saw in his visions for…" Aviflores paused to think for a minute. "A long time." She gave up. "I knew only a few facts: You were from Michigan, in the United States of the Planet Earth." She watched Althea's eyes widen in shock.  
"Yes, I know of your country. I've even been there a few times- very strange." Aviflores said thoughtfully.  
"I suggest to your people that you try and clean things up. It smells like the back side of a rhino." Kyshak wrinkled his nose in disgust.  
"Wait- you've been there?" Althea gasped.  
"Oh yes. I had to, in order to get the spell right. You see dear, I made the mirror to transport you to Sanrou. However my first attempt was…" Aviflores thought again for the right words.  
"A failure." Kyshak said gruffly.  
"I wouldn't say _failure_." Aviflores pouted. "Less than successful, but not fail… Anyway- I got the wrong human." She sighed in frustration.  
"She started this whole mess by getting the wrong human through the mirror." Alabast shook his head in dismay. "The man was different than you- not able to accept the fact of our race and married the princess of the human kingdom at that time, becoming the current king."  
"WOAH- wait. The king is from her world too?" Toran said in shock.  
"Yes, and he despised the humanus- he said he was something like an evangel-i-ceil?"  
"Oh." Althea said grimly. "Yeah, he wouldn't like you guys."  
"Yes, so anyway. I'm guessing you wanted to head back to your world, then?" Aviflores smiled.  
"Yeah, but the mirror I came through broke when I got here." Althea glanced at the stairs behind her, wondering if she should have brought it down with her.  
"Oh." Aviflores pouted. "You dropped it? How unfortunate. Well then I suppose the only option we have is to get the other one then. That may be more difficult than you may want though."  
"She has to get back to her world. Sanrou is too dangerous for her." Toran said in determination.  
"Very well, but first she has to fix the war- that's how the vision went, and that's how it must play out." Kyshak said firmly.  
"I want to stop it- I don't like seeing people dying like this." Althea said, surprising the three mystics. Aviflores giggled as Kyshak and Alabast smiled in satisfaction.  
"You will get your chance, young one." Alabast nodded.  
"For now, we must discuss one thing-" Aviflores moved back toward Althea, and put two fingers on her forehead. Althea flinched as she felt a rush of warmth through her, and her back suddenly felt normal. "What are we to do with the two humans in this room?" Aviflores looked over her shoulder at Sei and Rain in their humanus disguises.  
"What?" Toran looked around in shock, trying to see them  
Aviflores sighed and snapped her fingers, the illusion falling from both of them.  
"Capture them!" The king yelled in horror, and the wolf guards descended on Sei and Rain, holding them tightly, their hands behind their back so they couldn't use any magic.


	32. Chapter 32

Jan walked down the stone staircase into the dungeon, nodding in greeting to the wolf guards on the way down, glancing at two particularly scratched and beaten guards. He walked through the corridors until he came upon one of the two rooms in which the humans were being held. He wanted to talk with them- which was strange compared to how he normally dealt with prisoners.  
"Open the door, please." Jan told the guard standing in front of the door, who looked up at him in surprise and nodded obediently, opening the heavy wooden door to let the prince through. Jan looked in at the girl kneeling on the ground, her hands tied behind her back as she struggled against the ropes holding her to the wall. She looked up with fierce blue eyes and bared her teeth in anger.  
"What do you want, animal?" She spat, increasing her struggles against the wall.  
"Calm down, you won't get out of those. They were specially made." Jan couldn't help but smile at the human's intense struggle- she had spirit, that was for sure.  
She stopped her struggles, instead focusing on glaring at him intently. Jan sighed and kneeled in front of her, his face stern.  
"I have a few questions for you, human, and you'll answer me or regret it." Jan said, his wry smile revealing his long fangs.  
"Like hell I'll answer anything you ask. Let me out of her! Where's Sei?" She yelled, struggling again.  
"Stay still. By God you're feisty, aren't you?" Jan smirked in amusement. "Now- my first question." He turned serious again all of a sudden. "Why do you hate the humanus?"  
she looked up in surprise at the question and scoffed in disbelief. "You dare ask that? You filthy animals don't deserve to live- your existence is a mistake."  
"Okay, and why do we not deserve to live? Who decreed that?" Jan asked thoughtfully.  
"The king opened our eyes to our mistake. Our experiment with your kind is a failure, and now we must destroy what we created."  
"Ah yes, the king." Jan chuckled. "I've heard quite a few interesting things about him lately from the mystics. Did you know he is from the same world as the girl you're trying to kill?"  
The girl looked up at him with wide eyes before baring her teeth. "Lies- he told us he has lived here all his life. He is our king, and was born into royalty."  
"Is that what he told you?" Jan laughed. "No, according to Aviflores he was born in a place called Detroit, in an entirely different world. He was brought into Sanrou by mistake."  
"If he is from another world, how does he know our customs so well? How did he become the king?"  
"I don't know- how did he? How do you know he knows your customs so well, or maybe he just follows by example."  
The girl slumped against her restraints, her eyes wide as she thought of the times she had seen the king in court- he had never led any procession, but had always followed what the queen had done first. "I- I don't understand. There's no way." She whispered.  
"So, if the king is not the rightful king, who is he to say who lives or dies? He's not even from this world. So answer my question from your own mind: why do you hate the humanus?" Jan said, trying to coax an answer from her.  
The girl stared at the ground in front of her as she tried to think, glancing up at the wolf in front of her in disbelief. "I don't know."  
Jan smiled, moving closer to her. "Do you hate us at all? Or have you just been following orders? Remember, I'll know if you lie or not."

She stared at him, and looked down, as if in shame. "I don't- I've been following what the queen ordered me to do."  
"Good. Now, what's your name?" Jan said, his voice softer.  
"Rain." She answered, her eyes still looking toward the ground."  
"And your brother is in the other room? He's fine by the way."  
"Yes, that's my brother. I don't understand though- why would he lie to everyone?"  
"Who, your king? Probably to keep his power. Don't you think it's pretty convenient that everyone is focusing on killing the humanus instead of watching him? I know that my subjects watch me constantly- it's probably why he's gotten away with this for so long."  
"Who are you?" Rain looked up at him in confusion.  
"My name is Jan- I'm the prince of the Okami kingdom."  
"Why are you down here talking to me?" Rain said, suddenly suspicious.  
"My sister showed me some of Althea's memories. She had a war similar to ours in their world, and it was stopped when people finally banded together and found out what was really going on. Things are never what they appear to be- there's always something behind things that happen in a war."  
"So, the king is hiding himself?"  
"it would make sense. He doesn't want attention directed to himself, so he made another thing for your kingdom to focus on. Though you guys have apparently taken a toll on the Tora kingdom. I have another question to ask you now: Why are you after Althea? I have a feeling you and your brother are two of the better fighters of your kingdom. Why are you going after one little girl?"  
"I don't know. The queen just told us to bring her back alive."  
"Alive? Interesting…" Jan looked at the door thoughtfully. He would have to tell that to Toran later on.  
"You seem smarter than I thought humanus would be." Rain whispered. Jan looked down at her in surprise, chuckling.  
"Some of us aren't too bright- I wouldn't call any of the insectus 'smart'. I don't think we're all that different from you humans, in the end. It took a bit for me to see that though." Jan's ears flipped back against his head as he remembered the memories he had seen from Althea's mind.  
"You don't have magic, though." Rain whispered, looking up at him.  
"Also wrong." Jan smiled, and vanished from sight. Rain gasped and looked around the room in surprise, but not able to see him anywhere.  
"How did you do that?" She said urgently, trying to see him.  
"I'm the only one I know of that can. Useful, isn't it? I can sneak into anywhere as long as I don't bump into anyone or knock anything over." Jan came back into view on the other side of Rain, making her jump in surprise. "All humanus have some ability. We have magic, though not nearly as much as you humans. With the exception of the peacock, of course."  
"I'm so confused." Rain stared at the ground, her face pained as she tried to sort through everything she was hearing.  
"You can think through things. Are you going to try and kill people if I untie your wrists? They can't be comfortable."  
Rain looked up at him in surprise and shook her head slowly.  
"Alright- if you do, I've told my guards not to hesitate with you if you turn on them. They've been specially chosen to guard you humans because they have strong abilities." Jan warned warily.  
"I won't." Rain shook her head, her eyes still thoughtful.  
"Alright." Jan leaned over her, reaching behind her to untie the ropes holding her wrists together. Rain flinched at the closeness of him as she felt her cheek come into contact with his shoulder. He finally undid the ropes, leaning away again and holding the rough spun cloth rope in his hands. "Stay as comfortable as you can in here. Once things settle down some we can discuss a better room. First I want to make sure you're telling the truth." Jan stood, wrapping the rope around his wrist as he walked out of the dungeon door. He sighed and looked over to the next room as Rain's cell door was closed behind him.  
"Be sure that she gets a good meal- not the dungeon slop we usually give them. She means well." Jan looked to the guards, who raised their eyebrows in surprise but nodded obediently.  
Jan walked over to the other room, hesitating slightly before he opened the door.  
"So- your name is Sei, is that right?" Jan walked in, closing the door firmly behind him.  
Sei looked up, his red eyes fierce as he glared at the wolf. Jan faltered at the strange colored eyes before continuing further into the room, this time kneeling further away from Sei than he had from Rain.  
"Your sister is healthy, safe and comfortable. You don't need to worry about her. She's in the room right beside you." Jan pointed to the wall between the two.  
Sei glanced at the wall for a second before returning his glare back to Jan, remaining silent.  
Jan waited for a minute before sighing and standing. "You probably don't want to talk, I'm guessing? Perhaps if you talked with your sister about what we found out, you'll see things differently. Your country is being betrayed, and none of you even realize it. There is a way to stop it, but only with both your and Rain's help." Jan said simply, waiting a little bit more in case Sei wanted to reply before snorting in frustration and walking out of the room, closing the door hard behind him. "He is a stubborn one." Jan growled as the guards returned to their place in front of the heavy wooden door.  
He walked up the staircase, surprised to see Alabast standing at the top of the stairs, Aviflores and Kyshak waiting behind him.  
"We have much to discuss, prince." The dragon said, looking toward the dungeon doors before looking back to Jan.


	33. Chapter 33

Ch. 33

Toran yawned, stretching his arms out as he sat up in his bed, his claws flexing out of his fingers momentarily as he stretched. He looked around the room curiously, and remembered where he was: the Okami kingdom, just after the mystics had finally set things straight. Jan seemed much calmer now, though he did have a bit of a fit yesterday about some poor girl spilling wine on his silk blue shirt. Toran shook his head in frustration at the wolf prince as he stood and put on his shirt, which was draped over the back of one of the chairs in his room. He looked out the window and froze, watching small white flakes fall from the sky above. He had heard of the cold water, but he had never seen it in all his life- living in a tropical climate usually stopped snow from even coming near his home. He looked out at the scene below the castle, not able to help a smile at the blanket of white covering the landscape below. Walking out of his room, he narrowly missed Naru as the peacock ran down the hall, his long tail feathers sweeping the stone floor behind him.  
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Toran yelled to Naru. The peacock smiled over his shoulder, slowing down to a walk.  
"Have you looked outside yet? I want to show Althea!" Naru grinned eagerly before continuing his run.  
"Watch out!" a yell from outside an open window yelled, and Naru stopped and shuddered when a snowball hit him square in the jaw. His tail feathers shook angrily as he shivered at the sudden cold, looking out the window to see Sora giggling, Tobias looking guiltily at Naru.  
"Sorry about that, Naru. His aim is horrible." The barn owl laughed as she turned around to pelt Tobias with another snowball. She flew off, chasing after Tobias as the two waged a snow war outside the castle.  
"I-it's so c-cold." Naru gasped, his eyes wide as he wiped the dripping snowball remains off his shoulders.  
"What were you expecting?" Toran laughed, walking past Naru over to Althea's door and knocked softly. He heard a sleepy groan from inside and couldn't help but smile. He heard Naru approach and made a motion for him to be quiet as Toran quietly opened the door to Althea's room.  
"Bad idea." Naru muttered, staying outside the room. Toran rolled his eyes and started sneaking over to Althea as she slept on the large bed, making sure she was asleep before leaning down so that he was only a foot above her.  
"WAKE UP!" He yelled with a laugh, but flinched when Althea yelled in shock, flailing her arms up and hitting him on the nose in her panic. Toran yelled in pain, backing up and holding his wounded nose as Althea looked around with wide eyes.  
"What? Oh!" Althea looked over to Toran as she saw him rubbing his nose with a frown."I'm sorry- I didn't mean to smack you like that."  
"I told you it was a bad idea." Naru laughed from outside the door.  
"Shut up, bird-brain." Toran growled as he twitched his nose, looking out the window. "Look-" He pointed excitedly at the falling snow, "It's snowing!"  
Althea smiled, kicking the blankets off her and running over to the window- forgetting the nightgown she wore for the night. "It is! Does it snow here often?" She turned around to see Toran's eyes wide and his face flushed, and Naru's chuckle from the doorway.  
"Oh!" Althea blushed, grabbing at the blankets on the bed to cover herself with a blush. Carlisa had let her borrow some of the comfortable and warmer clothing, including some nightgowns so she wouldn't have to wear the same clothing to bed that she wore during the day.  
"We'll leave you to get descent." Naru chuckled, reaching into the room to drag Toran back out to the hall and closed the door behind them.  
"Calm down, Toran." Naru laughed at Toran's wide eyes as the tiger glanced at the door behind them.  
"Shut up." He muttered, glancing down the hall to hide his blush.  
"I was thinking after we have some fun in the snow, I'd discuss something else I found out about magic. Apparently every human has an ability they're best at too- what their magic was actually meant to be used for, instead of just blasting people. I haven't found mine, but maybe if we work at it we could find Althea's."  
"That'd be a good idea." Toran nodded in satisfaction. "I think she likes being able to defend herself. She doesn't like having us have to protect her all the time."  
"She worries too much." Naru smirked, looking over as the door opened again, and Althea's blushing face looked out at them.  
"Alright, you can come in." She whispered, leaving the door open for them.  
"So, does it snow like this in your world?" Toran said, running a hand nervously through his brown hair, trying to get the image of her in that silk gown from his mind.  
"I live in Michigan." She chuckled in amusement. "We get at least three months straight of snowfall."  
"I've never seen it before." Toran looked toward the window again, his ears perking slightly in excitement.  
"Well how about we go out and have a snowball fight?" Althea smiled, but Naru and Toran only looked at her in confusion.  
"What's a snowball?" Toran said cautiously- he didn't really want to fight with Althea- what if he accidentally hurt her again?  
"I'll show you." Althea laughed, grabbing Toran and Naru's wrists and dragging them out of the room, then running down the hall ahead of them, laughing. Toran glanced at Naru in confusion, but ran after Althea as she ran outside, over to a clearing between the castle and the nearby village.  
She leaned down and scooped up a bit of snow, packing it together and held up the ball. "THIS is a snowball!"  
"What do you do with it?" Toran leaned down to pick up his own, shivering at the feeling of the cold snow against the pads of his hands. He looked up to see a snowball flying toward him, hitting him in the face. He sputtered and dropped his own snowball to wipe the snow off his face, hearing Naru and Althea's laughter. He growled and scooped up another bit of snow, running after Althea menacingly before she squeaked in fear and ran away. Naru grabbed a snowball and threw it toward Toran, but missed by quite a few feet.  
"That's not fair, I'm outnumbered!" Toran yelled as he threw snowball after snowball towards Althea as she kept running.  
"Not for long." A familiar voice yelled out, and Naru fell forward as a snowball hit him in the back of the head, throwing off his delicate balance. He spat snow out of his mouth and looked up to see Xicro running toward them to help Toran in the fight.  
They fought for another hour without interruption before Althea finally fell onto the ground on her back, letting out a deep sigh. She moved her arms and legs, sitting up and rolled away until she could look at her imprint. Toran finally caught up, looking at the strange imprint in confusion.  
"What's that?" He pointed to it.  
"It's a snow angel." Althea smiled. "You try it. Lay on the ground and move your limbs around." She said, waving her arms as an example. Toran looked down at the imprint and shrugged, laying back in the snow and doing what she wanted. He sat up, looking down at the imprint, but seeing how different it was than Althea's – his tail and his ears had also made imprints into it, making the angel look more humanus than Althea's.  
"It has ears!" Althea giggled in amusement, and sighed before laying back in the snow with a smile. Toran sat down next to her as Naru and Xicro continued to fight, Xicro yelling taunts to the peacock as he threw snowballs.  
"I haven't had a snowball fight like that in a long time." Althea smiled to Toran, who looked down at her and smiled back.  
"It's fun. I kind of wish it snowed back in Tora now." Toran looked around at the blanket of white, feeling strangely content. He moved so that he was leaning over Althea, looking up to see Naru and Xicro too busy to notice before leaning down and kissing her softly.  
She blushed as he leaned away with a smile, his green eyes warm as he looked down at her.  
"Things will start to get rough after we leave Okami. I just want you to know that I'll still love you no matter what happens." He whispered, nuzzling her cheek affectionately.  
"I know." Althea smiled, kissing his cheek gently. He grinned happily and leaned away as Naru and Xicro's yells started getting closer, but still stayed close to Althea.  
"Toran?" Jan looked out the door of the castle, spotting Toran and Althea and sighing in relief. "Finally- what are you doing out he-" Jan flinched as a snowball hit him in the side of the head. He froze in place, his eyes wide as Naru and Xicro stopped, feeling the anger radiating off the wolf.  
"Want to play that game, huh?" Jan growled, and vanished. Toran sat up quickly in surprise as they looked around for Jan, but Althea stayed silent as she watched footprints travel over to Naru , a bit of snow being scooped up and vanishing before Naru's shirt was pulled back and the peacock went rigid, a squawk of surprise sounding from him. Jan became visible and laughed at Naru as he tried to get the snow from his shirt, dancing in place at the cold against his back.  
"That was a bit mean." Althea giggled as Jan walked over to her and Toran.  
"He had it coming." Jan glanced back to Naru with bared teeth. He looked down at Toran, his expression suddenly serious. "One of my horse messengers told me of a 'Tango and Ichi' want to talk to you by the docks." Jan said, hinting that he didn't really know what they wanted or who they were.  
Toran quickly stood up, looking down to Althea before turning serious. "Right." He said gruffly, reaching a hand down to help Althea up as well. "We'll go see them." He said, hinting that he wanted Althea to go with him. She nodded, knowing that whatever news the aquatica wanted to tell them couldn't be good. They were too early for the journey back to Tora…


	34. Chapter 34

As Toran and Althea approached, the two aquatics were at the edge of the dock-  
"How can you stand such cold water? It feels like my tail is going to fall off." Ichi said in frustration, the tuna aquatic wrapping his arms around his torso to keep himself at least a little more warm.  
"I think it's pretty refreshing, really. Other water is always way too warm." Tango said, sounding happier than Althea had ever heard him.  
"Crazy orca." Ichi muttered and looked up as the group came to stand in front of them. "Ah, the land walkers! I hope your stay in the wolf kingdom is going well?" Ichi smiled, hoisting his top half out of the water so that he leaned himself up on the dock by his arms.  
"Yes, though there were some troubles at first, but things have been worked out." Toran glanced to Althea who chuckled at the understatement.  
"That's good. I'm afraid I come bearing bad news." Ichi said, his normally smiling face suddenly falling into a frown. "Though the battle on the Tora shore is going well, the lion captain would like me to tell you that the king has passed." Ichi said, looking up at Toran uneasily. "Which makes you the new king, Toran."  
Toran stared at Ichi in shock, his green eyes wide. "My father died? When?" He whispered, his voice cracking slightly.  
"The lion did not mention when, but it took me nearly a week to travel here with the dolphin pods. They are the fastest of our scouts."  
"A week?" Toran said in disbelief, his ears back against his head as his eyes widened more. "You're sure about this?" He asked urgently.  
"I see no reason why the lion captain would lie." Ichi shrugged. "Though of course I have not heard the news directly from those in the capitol."  
"No, Solorne wouldn't lie about something like that." Toran said, his voice starting to fill with emotion. "Thank you, Ichi." He said quickly, bowed stiffly and started to quickly walk back toward the castle. Althea looked up at him as he left in concern, looking back down at Ichi's confused expression.  
"Why would a king bow to me?" The aquatic muttered.  
"He's probably pretty confused right now. He was close to his father." Althea watched as Toran went by Naru and Xicro without a word, who then looked at each other in confusion.  
"I see. Well, I wish him good weather and clean water." Ichi nodded in farewell to Althea. "I must get back to the Tora coastline, though Tango will stay in these waters to help you on your journey westward when you are ready." Ichi looked at Tango, who nodded in agreement.  
"Alright, be safe." Althea smiled to Ichi, who smiled back before pushing himself off the dock and started to swim away, quickly disappearing under the waves. She nodded farewell to Tango before starting to walk back over to the castle.  
"What's with Toran?" Xicro asked as she passed.  
"Ichi brought some bad news." Althea said uneasily. "Toran's father apparently died a while back."  
"WHAT?!" Xicro yelled, his yellow eyes wide as he dropped the snowball in his hand.  
"Wait- so that makes Toran…"  
"The new king." Althea nodded quickly. "I don't think he's taking it very well." She looked up at the castle. "But I don't really know where he went."  
"Come with me, sweetie- I can track that boy from a mile away." Xicro grabbed Althea's wrist, guiding her into the castle, Naru behind them. They went through the halls, ignoring the strange looks of the humanus around them as Xicro occasionally stopped and inhaled deeply, looking in two directions before picking one of them. He stopped in front of a large room, the door closed tightly.  
"He needs you right now, Althea. No matter how much he joked about it, he was really close to his father as a child." Xicro whispered, not wanting Toran to know he was outside the room.  
"I understand." Althea whispered back, looking to Naru's anxious expression. "Someone should probably tell Jan what the news was. It's bound to be a bit of a shock to everyone."  
"We'll handle that." Naru nodded. "You go help Toran." He nodded and walked with Xicro back down the hall, leaving Althea looking uneasily at the door to Toran's room. Would he want her to be there? He had gone to his room to be left alone for a while- she felt awkward barging in like this, but he did seem like he needed comfort.  
"Toran?" She said in concern outside the door, knowing that he could hear her easily. When she didn't hear a protest from inside, she opened the door slightly, surprised to see Toran sitting on a large blue silk bed, his face resting in the palm of his hands silently. She walked cautiously over to him and sat on the bed beside him, looking around nervously when he still made no reaction. She set a hand on his shoulder gently and took her hand away when she saw his fur bristle along his shoulders and back, down to the tip of his tail. He looked up and sighed, taking his hands away from his pained expression. They sat in silence for a bit before Toran let out a low growl, grabbing her into his arms and holding her close to him. He buried his face in her hair, fighting back the stinging that was starting to come to his eyes.  
"I wasn't there with him." He finally said in a gruff voice, squeezing Althea for reassurance. Althea sighed in concern and wrapped her arms around him for comfort. She knew he was trying to hold back his emotions- and that it was hurting him.  
"You did what you had to do. I'm sure he understood." Althea whispered, running a hand through his brown hair soothingly as he moved away, refusing to look at her with his red and puffy eyes.  
"I'm not ready for any of this- I can't be king, I don't even know where to start." He said softly, finally looking at her with sad eyes. "And I know you don't want to be queen."  
"Don't worry about me for now- worry about yourself. I'm sure you'll make a wonderful king- just look at what you've done with our little group. You're a natural leader." Althea smiled, touching his hand softly.  
"I wonder who will rule while I'm gone? Probably my mother." Toran looked at the ground beside the bed thoughtfully. "I'm sure things will be fine. I just… don't know how this happened. I knew he was sick, but I didn't know it was that serious."  
"Sometimes when someone's sick, it just goes bad. There's nothing you could have done- don't think that it's your fault either, because it's definitely _not._" Althea said firmly. After her brother had died when she was a child, she had at first blamed herself- but later on she had realized that there was nothing she could have done.  
"Yeah." Toran said softly, looking down at the ground. "So you're not upset about it? I would have thought you'd be freaking out that your mate is a king now." He smiled painfully.  
"What, you thought I wouldn't want to be near you anymore?" Althea said in disbelief. "You've been a prince all this time, why would being a king be any different?"  
Toran couldn't help but chuckle and took her into his arms again, letting out a deep sigh. "Thank you." He whispered, nuzzling her hair. Althea smiled and sat patiently while she comforted him, hoping he would be okay after this big shock.

"Um, your highness? A human wishes to see you." Michael looked in the room to Jan, who looked over his shoulder in surprise.  
"Oh? Go ahead and let them in." Jan told the horse, turning around from his map of the Okami coastlines. He watched with surprise as Rain walked into the room, looking at Michael uneasily as she passed by him, flinching when he shut the door behind her.  
"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?" Jan asked, leaning casually against the table behind him.  
"I was wondering if I could talk to my brother. He probably is worried about me, and I don't think he'll listen to any of you." She said, raising her chin stubbornly. Jan only smiled at her request.  
"Of course you can, I was hoping you would ask. He is a pretty stubborn man." The wolf said, huffing slightly at his last encounter with the human. Sei had still denied everything Jan had tried to tell him, throwing insults at him instead.  
"Thank you." Rain said gratefully. "I'm sure he'll understand once I tell him what really happened. Now that I've thought about it for a while, it all makes sense. It's why the queen never wanted us around the castle, and sent us out on hunting missions for most of our lives." She sighed. "I just wish I had seen it sooner."  
"The queen sounds like a very intelligent woman- she made sure you were completely unaware of what was happening. You shouldn't blame yourself." Jan shrugged.  
Rain smiled softly and nodded, turning toward the door.  
"Here- wait just a second and I'll go with you. You'll be able to talk alone of course, I just want to be there in case things go bad." Jan said quickly, rolling up the ancient parchment and sliding it back in a slot in the bookcase against the wall. He walked out behind her, holding the door open for her. They walked down the hallways and staircases until they finally came to the dungeon, Jan stopping in front of the large wooden door containing Sei.  
"Be careful, I know he's your brother but he's been in there for a while." Jan said uneasily, grabbing the ring of keys at his waist and unlocking the door, opening it for her. Rain walked through, looking through the darkness to her brother, who was slumped against the wall. He looked up with dark red eyes, surprised to see Rain in front of him.

"I don't like just waiting like this, sir." Michael said uneasily as he glanced at the door. Sei and Rain were still talking inside the dungeon cell, Sei's voice occasionally raising to a yell.  
"She has to convince him of what's going on- she's the only one he'll listen to." Jan said, looking over at the horse humanus who was standing guard on the other side of the door. "I don't like it any more than you do, Michael."  
Michael smiled at Jan's use of his name. Though they were from different classes of society- Michael was from the peasant class of horses, bound to serve the noble family of wolves- They had grown up together and so became forbidden friends- usually a horse was in no way on name terms with a wolf- none the less a prince.  
"Do you think she can be trusted?" Michael said uneasily. "She's still a human, and she was trying to kill the Tora prince."  
"I think she's just confused. Humans aren't evil, they are just following evil intentions from their royalty. Once the population finds out what's really going on, I think everything will turn out well." Jan said, but knew in the back of his mind that once the news got out, it would have to be proved. Even then there would probably be different factions of humans, which would leave to a bloody combat. Why did everything have to end in death?  
They both looked up as Rain walked out of the dungeon cell, sighing in relief.  
"Alright, we agree to help you." She said softly, looking through her bars at her brother, who was staring at the stone floor in front of him in shock.  
"Help us?" Jan said in confusion.  
"Yes. You see, my brother and I are of royal blood. If you help my brother take the crown, he agrees to help the humanus by declaring peace with both of your countries." Rain smiled.


	35. Chapter 35

"You're both royalty? How- and why would the queen send you away like she did?" Jan asked as Rain chuckled.  
"That's exactly why what you said made sense before. She didn't want us around- in fact I think she expected us to get killed by your race a long time ago. We are the last of the true lineage of the royal family." Rain finished, looking at the ground sadly.  
"What of your parents? They must be royalty too."  
"That is what concerns me. Our parents died when we were children. We were told it was the humanus who killed them- which is why we hated your kind so much. But now that this has all come to light… I don't really know what to think. I don't want to believe they were killed because some petty man decided to take the crown. It seems like an empty death."  
"I'm sure their death was not in vain. If it's any consolation, my mother was killed by humans long ago. I can understand how you would feel that way." Jan sighed, looking through the bars at Sei as the human raised his red eyes and locked gazes.  
"Can your brother be trusted to come out of his jail cell? He must keep that temper of his in control." Jan looked at the human with a soft snort of frustration.  
"I'm sure he'll be fine." Rain nodded.  
"Very well." Jan nodded to Michael, who turned toward the door uneasily, opening it and walking inside. He walked over to Sei, his hooves clipping on the ground softly before he knelt down next to the human.  
"Hold very still." Michael muttered before putting his hoofed hands over the shackles holding Sei, which burst apart as if released from some invisible binding. Sei glanced up at the horse before rubbing his raw wrists, standing up on cramped legs.  
"So then, my sister tells me that you have discovered something about our king?" He looked from Michael to Jan.  
"Yes- if you do not believe me, then Aviflores will enlighten you." Jan smiled smugly to the human, who bared his teeth in anger.  
"I don't care who the hell I hear it from. You said he's from the same world as that girl?" Sei looked to his sister for reassurance, who nodded.  
"Yes- from the same world as Althea. Was it you who shot her back like that? That was not very kind of you." Jan furrowed his eyebrows in disapproval. "I have a feeling the Tora king will not be too happy with you being free to roam the castle."  
"The Tora king? How did he get here?" Rain looked at Sei in confusion. "We traveled by the fastest boat in human knowledge- yet we were behind them."  
"I'm afraid the Tora king has passed, making Toran their new king."  
Sei groaned in frustration, putting his face in his hand. "This will complicate things."  
"Especially now that he is mates with the human girl. This is something that has never happened in all of our history."  
"They're mates?" Rain's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait- does that mean… they're married?"  
"What is married?" Jan looked at her in confusion.  
"Oh- um, married is a joining of two people publicly, pronouncing their loyalty to each other." Rain tried to explain marriage in its simplest terms.  
"Sort of." Sei muttered. "There's a public ceremony involved. It's a human tradition that's been going on for generations."  
"Ah, then no. There has not been any public ceremony binding them together." Jan wrinkled his nose at the thought of such a private bond being publically shown. "Either way, we must plan our next move carefully. Now that you are with the humanus, you will also be labeled as an enemy." Jan glanced to both of them with his ice-blue eyes. "That is the way your kind usually acts, anyway."  
"Yes, we will be. But we were already outcasts before this." Sei shrugged carelessly.  
"Sir!" They all looked up as a wolf guard ran down the staircase, panting for breath. "Sir, one of our scouts has caught an insectus at the edge of the city- he says she is requesting your audience, sir."  
"An insectus requesting an audience?" Jan whispered in shock. "Very well- please tell the scout to bring her to the thrown room- and to be very careful with her."  
"Yes, sir." The guard nodded and ran back up the stairs, nearly tripping at the top step in his hurry.  
"An insectus? What are those?" Rain looked at Jan curiously.  
"Something your kind made as a joke, no doubt. They are the most vile things in this planet." Jan growled. "They eat themselves, humans and humanus alike. Anything alive and moving is a meal to them."  
"What would they want from you?" Rain wondered.  
"I don't know, but it can't be good." Jan said grimly, walking up the stairs to the upper floors, waiting for the others to follow before making his way to the throne room.

"Let me go!" A strangely hissing voice yelled, the crowd in the throne room moving aside almost at once. Jan looked on as the parting crowd revealed a strange creature- not like any he had ever seen- she was a Praying Mantis insectus, with large folded arms half extended from her back as her wings buzzed, fighting the wolves who held her captive. The arms ended in large serraded knife-like bones, which glinted dangerously in the firelight of the room. She let out a long hiss as one of the wolf guards pulled her in frustration, one of the arms raising higher, extending back like a spring ready to snap.  
"ENOUGH!" Jan yelled, afraid one of the guards was going to be attacked at any moment. "Who is the scout who found this insectus?" Jan looked around the room.  
"I am, your highness." A tall humanus walked through the crowd that parted for him, stopping in front of the throne and knealing.  
Jan looked down in amusement- it was rare for the kangaroo scouts to ever be still for long- it wasn't in their nature to relax.  
"What is your name, scout?" Jan said, surprising the kangaroo below him.  
"Marsu, sir." The kangaroo replied, his long, large ears flipping back in embarrassment.  
"Ah, I see." Jan said, inwardly rolling his eyes. _Marsupial. _What an unoriginal name. No doubt he thought the same thing by his cringe."Well Marsu, was the insectus harming anyone in our city?"  
"No, sir. She was hunting in the forests." Marsu replied, staying knealt down, which was making him grit his teeth with effort. His legs were far longer than a humanus would even normally have- his foot was nearly touching his knee as he strained to stay as polite as possible.  
"You may kneel on both legs if that pains you." Jan said, looking at the kangaroo humanus' long shins shaking with effort.  
"Thank you, sir." Marsu sighed in relief, kneeling on both knees instead of just one.  
"Do you know what the insectus wanted?" Jan looked over to the praying mantis, who was hissing at the guards holding her as they tied the bladed arms to her back.  
"I do not know. While I was bringing her here she kept yelling that we must go with her to the insectus. I have no idea why." Marsu glanced at the insectus out of the corner of his eye.  
"Why don't we ask her?" Jan looked over to the guards holding the insectus captive, who brought her forward and forced her to kneel to the ground in front of Jan, despite her hisses. Marsu quickly backed out of the way, and nodded politely to the king, who nodded back before looking down at the praying mantis.  
"So, insectus. You wish us to come with you? And why would we want to do such a thing- your kind is known for eating anyone who strays too far into your territory."  
The insectus looked up at Jan, the large black lens of her eyes making Jan squirm uncomfortably in his seat. "We are dying in droves. We not know what do this thing to us, but it kill lots of us. Humanus must help us, or we will all perish. Many kinds have already died off- those weak and frail. Humanus must help us!" The mantis yelled, looking up to Jan with wide eyes.  
"What is killing your kind so quickly?" Jan asked, his voice low as he leaned forward in his chair.  
"Not know- one morning insectus fine, by night he dead. His skin crack and hurt- not able to eat anything, no drink. Just come back up, and with blood."  
"Sounds like a disease, sir." Marsu said uneasily. "The insectus must be dying from a plague of some sort."  
"Sickness- yes, insectus are all sick. Must help us, or we all die. Even our queen is sick."  
"Queen? The insectus have a queen?" Jan said in shock. He had thought the insectus were too unorganized to have a queen. What would the queen of all insects look like?  
"Yes, queen is not sick yet, but we fear she may die. You will help us?" she looked up hopefully.  
"We must first see if this sickness can spread to humanus. We have to find someone who will travel with you to the insectus territory and stay until they are exposed to the disease, and come back if they live from it." Jan said thoughtfully.  
"I will go, sir." Marsu raised his arm in volunteer. Jan looked up at him in surprise, but smiled.  
"Very good. You will travel with the insectus to their land, and come back once you know it will not spread to humanus." Jan nodded.  
"I have a name." The praying mantis hissed. "And it not 'insectus'. I am Tasa." She glanced to Marsu warily.  
Jan raised an eyebrow curiously, not knowing that insectus named each other. They apparently were more intelligent than he had thought. "Very well, Tasa. Once Marsu comes back unharmed we will discuss a way to help your kind in further detail. Until then, I would suggest not harming Marsu- he is your only hope right now."  
Tasa looked at Marsu again, this time her eyes wide. She looked at the ground as the arms protruding from her back moved against their bindings. "Will not." She muttered.  
"Very well. Marsu, I wish you luck in your journey. May you return unharmed and healthy." Jan nodded farewell to the kangaroo as he walked with Tasa out of the throne room. Jan flopped back into his throne with a sigh, running a palm over his face in frustration. Why wasn't the king here to take care of these messes? It almost seemed like Jan was already taking over the kingdom. He looked through his fingers at the satisfied faces of the crowds in the room and suppressed a wry smile. Maybe everyone else was thinking the same thing.


	36. Chapter 36

Marsu walked through the thick forests behind Tasa, watching the shadows around him warily, waiting for some sort of ambush of insectus. He still didn't know whether this was just a trap or not, and was watching every step he took.  
"Don't look so worried, long ears." Tasa laughed from over her shoulder, the plates of her face keeping her expressionless, but her eyes showed her amusement. Marsu faltered at the teasing, blinking in surprise. He wasn't used to the idea that insectus were intelligent- but the more he talked with her, the more he came to believe that it was true. She seemed more intelligent than even some humanus he knew.  
He heard a loud crunch under his foot and Tasa flinched in front of him before they both looked down at what he had stepped on- a large insectus arm, the plates brittle and cracked as the green blood seeped onto his foot.  
"We're close." Tasa said darkly and turned around to continue through the forest as Marsu frantically tried to wipe the blood off his foot.

"Here we are." Tasa said happily, but frowned when she saw those around the clearing of the forest, different shades of insectus around them on the ground, in varying degrees of pain and death.  
Marsu looked around as well, his eyes wide at the amount of insectus around him. "How many are there?" He whispered in horror.  
"Too many." Tasa said bitterly, looking up as a rather brightly colored pink mantis insectus landed beside her.  
"Ah Tasa, I'm glad you're back. I suppose this is our guest?" The insectus looked over at Marsu curiously.  
"Yes, could you please notify the queen he's here?" Tasa smiled weakly to the other insectus before leading Marsu to a large dirt mound, sticks jutting out from the sides of the entrance.  
"So what is that?" Marsu pointed to the building curiously.  
"That's the entrance to the hive." Tasa said, moving aside a large plank of wood that was only waist-high and walking in, putting it back behind Marsu.  
Marsu walked into the darkness uneasily, suddenly realizing that Tasa was no longer beside him. He heard a deep hiss and froze, feeling warm breath against his neck.  
"Oh look, it's a humanus." A sultry voice said in amusement. "Do you suppose he's the messanger from Okami?"  
"He must be." Another far more serious female voice said from in front of him. "What is your name?"  
Marsu tried to ignore the hairy leg brushing against his, and set his jaw stubbornly. "My name is Marsu. I am a scout of the Okami kingdom, and came to see if your kingdom was as dire need as your messenger said."  
"So, are we worthy of the Okami kingdom's help, Marsu?" The sultry female voice said bitterly.  
"Calm down, Pikla. Our race is not known for being kind to the humanus. They just want to be sure of the problem before they come to fix it." The voice said before moving into the light, making Marsu freeze in shock. She had a female torso connected to a spider's thorax, the either legs of the spider body resting against different areas of the cave entrance as she moved closer to him. He noticed with horror that a red hourglass was inlaid on her chest and abdomen. "So, Marsu." She smiled at his wide eyes. "What do you think of our kind?"  
Marsu looked up at her thoughtfully, and to the brown spider behind him. "I think your kind has been driven to desperation. You don't seem like you want to eat humans and humanus, but there's not enough resources for all of your kind."  
The queen looked down at him in pleasant surprise. "You are different than most humanus that come to visit us, Marsu. I believe our kingdoms will be able to get along very well."

Marsu walked with the queen across the field of the dying, trying to ignore a particularly young looking girl who was trying with futile effort to connect her arm back to her shoulder.  
"We can not last much longer. The disease has begun spreading into the hive. We banish those who have the first symptoms to the surface, but it seems as if it may go to the entire population very soon. Fortunately it only effects those with plates." The queen held out her arm- which the skin was smooth and black, rather than jutted and sectionalized like Tasa's. "But unfortunately, most of the insectus in my hives are plated."  
"Hives?" Marsu said in surprise.  
"Why yes- I'm the queen of the hives. Those in Okami and Tora, all the hives that have not gone rogue." The queen said proudly.  
Marsu boggled at the idea, and returned to staring at the ground. "So, I will try to convince the prince to come here as quickly as possible with healers."  
"Oh, that's wonderful." The queen said in relief. "In exchange, I will offer the humanus of Tora and Okami the insectus' protection. My queens in Tora tell me the humanus are fighting quite fiercely over there."  
"I'm sure they'll be glad to hear that." Marsu smiled. "Especially the Tora king- he's visiting Okami right now."  
"Oh? I've heard he's rather dashing." The queen smirked as Marsu chuckled.  
"He's mated with a human from another world- it's causing quite the stir in Okami."  
"Indeed? Even more interesting- I hope to meet them as well." The black spider raised on her legs to look higher over those around her. She frowned and lowered herself again, looking down at Marsu sadly. "I'm afraid we can't last much longer at this rate. I have already lost half of my hive."  
"This is only half?" Marsu stared at the thousands of insectus around him.  
"Little humanus- did you really think we were so weak?" The insectus queen laughed.

Jan boggled at Marsu, blinking a few times in shock. "Thousands? And that's only half?" He gasped.  
"Yes, and she said if we go to help them, she'll offer us and the Tora kingdom her protection. She's the queen of the hives both in this country, Tora's and apparently the few in the human kingdom as well."  
Toran raised an eyebrow curiously. "Well that makes things a bit easier. Instead of fighting both the humans and insectus, we could focus on just the humans."  
"It would make getting Sei the throne easier as well." Rain nodded.  
"Then we're all in agreement?" Jan looked around at those around him, who nodded. "Alright, now for the hard part. The king is… slightly biased against the insectus- they killed his wife and daughter. But I'm sure if it's for the good of the kingdom he'll set that aside." Jan said with a shrug, but Toran and Sei frowned as Jan turned to walk toward the throne room.

"NO." The king stormed, his fangs bared down at Jan in anger. "They are insectus- why should we help them?"  
"They are dying, your majesty. If we do not help them now, they are lost. They offered us their protection from the humans- they will not hurt us any further." Jan looked around him at the happy whispers of approval.  
"I do not care." The king yelled angrily. "They are mindless beasts who kill for pleasure- let them rot in hell for all I care." The king growled.  
"It is for the good of the people to help them." Jan said in horror, baring his fangs up at the king as well.  
"You do not know what is go for _my_ people, Jan. You are just a prince. You have no say in the matter."  
Jan's fur bristled on his neck and back as he let out an angry growl. "Then perhaps it is time that changed. You no longer know what is best for your people. You are blinded by hatred and sloth- and I challenge you for alpha of the Okami pack." Jan stood, baring his fangs as well, ignoring the gasps of shock from those around him.

Naru walked down the halls, chewing on a piece of fruit he had gotten from the kitchen. He looked up in surprise as he saw Carlisa running toward him, tears staining the fur of her cheeks. She stopped in front of him and buried her face in his green shirt, sobbing as Naru dropped his fruit in surprise.  
"What's wrong?" He asked in concern, putting his hands against her back for reassurance.  
"That idiot!" Carlisa yelled through sobs. "He know he can't win- he's a horrible fighter." She said harshly, looking at Naru in desperation. "Jan challenged the king- they're fighting for the throne tonight! He can't win against the king, he was in the war with the humans, and an amazing warrior. Jan can't beat that!." Carlisa shook her head in denial.  
"I'm sure Jan knows what he's doing." Naru said softly, but looked up in concern down the hall as wolves burst from their rooms and ran toward the throne room. He knew Carlisa would never be the same if Jan lost…

Jan stood in front of the ceremonial circle in the dungeon of the castle, looking behind him at the wolves around the top level of the room. He walked over to Toran, holding out his hand. Toran took his wrist firmly, and they watched each other for a minute.  
"I'm sorry things started out so badly." Jan said uneasily, glancing to Althea. "I'm not sure how this will turn out-I've never been the best with a blade. I'm more of a bow guy. But… if I lose, get out of the kingdom as quickly as possible, and forget about Okami. With him as the leader for much longer, the insectus will take us over."  
"You won't lose." Toran said firmly. "Just stay low, and keep moving. He's older- so he's slow."  
Jan smiled uneasily and nodded, looking over to Althea. "I hope you get back to your world, Althea. This place is too violent for someone as nice as you. Just stay close to Toran- he'll take care of you."  
Jan looked up at his group of sisters, taking a deep sigh before walking over to them. He hugged each one, paying special attention to the youngest before turning back to Carlisa, who stood beside Naru, tears streaming down her cheeks. Jan wrapped her in a tight hug, smiling against her hair.  
"If I don't make it, go with Naru to Tora. I know you'll be happy with him, and I hope you two have a wonderful life." He felt Carlisa's gasp and chuckled. "I've seen the way he looks at you. I'm dense, not stupid." He moved away from Carlisa, smiling reassuringly before poking her nose playfully. "Don't be so sad, Carsie."  
"Be careful." She whispered.  
Jan turned at last to Rain, who was standing with Sei away from the other wolves. He walked over slowly, ignoring the shocked expressions of those around him.  
"I don't understand what's happening." Rain said desperately. "Why is everyone so worried?"  
"This is a fight to the death." Jan said, his stomach churning uneasily at her horrified expression. "If I don't win-" He paused at her gasp. "If I don't, then just leave here and try to take over the human kingdom with Toran. But before I go, I want to tell you a story." Jan smiled meekly.  
"It's about an arrogant wolf whose parents were killed by humans. He thought all humans were evil and destructive, but one day he came upon two humans who seemed to be different." Jan glanced to Sei uneasily before continuing. "And then one day, much to his surprise, he realized he had fallen in love with one." Jan looked down at Rain, his blue eyes bright. He moved a lock of hair from her face and leaned down, kissing her softly. Sei looked away uneasily as the kiss deepened, Jan holding Rain for support as he bent her low to the ground, then standing her back upright.  
"Don't you dare die down there." Rain said softly, setting her forehead against his.  
"Yes ma'am." Jan chuckled and let her go, walking to the edge of the pit where the king was already waiting, his dagger drawn.  
"Are you about done?" The king growled angrily.  
Jan grinned back at Rain and looked down at the king. "Yep." he said simple, and jumped into the pit.


	37. Chapter 37

Jan let out a deep exhale as he looked across the pit at the king, who was waiting impatiently. He took out the small dagger at his side and stepped into the ring etched into the dirt on the ground.  
"You shouldn't have challenged me, Jan. You and I both know which one of us is the strongest." The king sneered.  
The two white wolves circled the pit, each waiting for the other to make the first move.  
"Stronger yes, smarter no." Jan grinned, his fangs flashing in what little light fell into the pit.  
The king let out a snarl and pounced toward Jan, who managed to move out of the way in time to avoid the dagger that slashed at the air behind him. The king turned and kicked Jan in the stomach, blowing the wind out of the younger wolf for a moment. Jan recovered with a snarl, using the side of the wall to thrust himself toward the king, dagger and claws drawn. The king moved, but was too slow to avoid the bite of the dagger digging deeply into his shoulder. He yelped in pain as Jan quickly backed away, watching him warily. The king looked down at the blood seeping down his white fur and turned burning eyes toward Jan.  
"You will never take my kingdom." He yelled, his eyes glowing red as he let loose a tendril of the red energy suddenly surrounding him toward Jan.  
Hisses and boos erupted from above as Jan dodged the attack. "It's against the code to use magic in a duel." Jan growled.  
"Screw the codes- a brat like you doesn't deserve to be king." The king yelled, and the tendrils snaked toward Jan again.  
"If you say so." Jan shrugged, and with a smile, completely vanished from sight.  
"You can't do that!" The king growled as he looked around frantically for any sign of Jan.  
"Oh that's fair. No wonder your second wife left you." Jan snickered before holding his dagger's blade against the king's spine. "Last chance- I could just banish you instead of killing you- I don't like the idea of death much."  
"Then you're weak." The king turned and lashed out, the red energy burning Jan's chest as he became visible and stumbled back in pain. He looked down at the black and red skin of his burned chest and kissed in pain before vanishing again.  
Everyone watched anxiously as the king lashed out randomly around him, trying to find Jan. He hit, and a loud yelp cried out through the silence as blood splattered against the wall of the pit.  
Rain gasped in horror as she saw Jan's foot prints stumble, a hand imprinting on the ground as he kneeled. She saw the foot prints carefully make their way along the wall toward the king, until he was behind him. She saw Jan hesistate, standing still for a moment before he stepped forward and became visible, yelling out a loud yell and shoving his dagger into the king's back, the red glow burning his hands as he twisted the blade before pulling it out.  
The king froze, his eyes wide as he turned his head slowly to look at Jan. A low growl sounded from his throat, before blood started to seep down from his nose and the corner of his mouth. He fell suddenly, the glow fading from around his body as he hit the ground.  
Jan stared at the king for a minute before dropping the dagger and gasped as the pain from the former king's attacks hit him suddenly. He fought for breath as his body suddenly went numb, leaning against the blood smeared wall behind him.  
He looked up in confusion as people started appearing around him, Toran talking to him with worried eyes, but Jan couldn't seem to hear Toran's muffled words. He was supported by two men, seeing Toran on one side, and a very worried Michael on the other.  
Then the world went black.

When Jan opened his eyes again, he was laying on his bed, a healer tending to his wounds with a soft silver glow around her slender hands. He remembered the battle and tried to sit up, growling in pain.  
"Stay." Rain snapped, putting one of her glowing hands on his bare chest to push him back down. "You scared me to death, you idiot. I told you to be careful." She said, her voice cracking slightly with emotion as she took one of his softly furred hands in her own.  
"Sorry." Jan smiled weakly, looking down at their intertwined hands thoughtfully. "You know, I wasn't sure if you'd reject me or not. I honestly thought I would lose the fight."  
Rain scoffed in disbelief, and hit him lightly on the shoulder. "Yu were going to kiss me and then die? King or not, that's a _horrible_ thing to do to a girl."  
"King…" Jan muttered with widening eyes.  
"Well, duh. You won the fight- so now you're king. But you're not doing any king stuff until you're healed. So sit there and stay."  
"Woof woof." Jan grinned teasingly. "Am I your dog now?"  
"Only if you want to be." Rain whispered with a blush, and Jan's grip on her hand tightened reassuringly.

"So you're sure you're feeling up to his? I'm sure no one would blame you if you wanted to delay the ceremony for a while." Michael asked Jan uneasily as he helped the wolf put on an ornate blue robe. Jan's chest was still somewhat stiff from his injuries, so he needed help putting the heavy outfit on for his crowning ceremony.  
"No, the kingdom needs a ruler as quickly as possible. Besides, Rain healed me, so I'm good as new." He thumped himself on the chest, and tried to hide the wince of pain it caused.  
"You're such a horrible liar- you always have been." Michael chuckled.  
Jan grinned and looked over his shoulder at his friend, this expression turning thoughtful. "Hey Michael, you always wanted to be a fighter and not a servant, right?"  
"Of course. Since my father taught me sword fighting as a child, I've always wanted to fight for the kingdom. Why?" Michael tied the cape over Jan's shoulder, his hooved fingers clicking lightly against the metal clasps as he worked.  
"How would you like to be general? I think you'd be good at it. You've always had a mind for tactics." Jan looked at himself in the mirror in front of him, grinning wryly at Michael's shocked expression.  
"Seriously? But… I'm a horse. How can I be general if I can't even be part of the army? Only wolves are allowed to fight."  
"I think it's about time things changed. Our kingdom is starting to rot under the rules of previous kings. People shouldn't be forced into a position just because of their species. It seems… wrong. I only have one agreement you must follow."  
"What's that?" Michael said lightly, still smiling.  
"You'll have to help me run the kingdom. I don't think I can do it on my own." Jan said, looking at his reflection uneasily. He had known the day would come when he would be king of Okami, but now that it was here, he didn't think he was ready for the throne.  
"Deal." Michael said, patting Jan on the shoulder to tell he was finished. "There we are, you look like a king now. Time to go get your crown."  
"Who is handing it over? Obviously the previous king can't."  
"We convinced Toran to do it- he seemed hesitant to fill such an important role, but he agreed with some help from Althea."  
"He's such a sucker for her." Jan laughed. "She could probably convince him to eat his own foot."  
"I do not doubt it- you seem to have a thing for that human girl as well- are you thinking of taking her as your mate?" Michael said curiously.  
Jan looked at his old friend with sudden nervousness. He knew Michael was not one to like humans much, and Rain had already tried to take down the kingdom. "I was thinking that, yes. What do you think of it?"  
"You are worried I disapprove?" Michael grinned. "I'm glad you care so much about my opinion- but I think you should. She is a nice girl, even though her brother sends chills down my spine. She sure has a thing for you as well.  
"You think?" Jan said eagerly.  
Michael simply laughed, shaking his head in amusement. "You really do need help with courtship, don't you? Do not worry, I'll be here to help you."  
Jan smiled in relief and held out his hand to his friend, and they grasped each other's wrists in a show of affection.  
"Now go and get your crown so we can help those poor insectus. From what Marsu told me, they need us desperately."  
"I agree. I believe Toran will want to join us as well."  
"And Rain will want to come- I doubt she'll let you for far without her in your condition."  
"I am healed! There is nothing wrong with me.!" Jan protested, but winced when Michael poked me in the chest.  
"Whatever you say, Your Majesty. Go on." Michael pushed Jan from the room with a laugh.

"Jan of Okami, do you vow to hold your subjects' needs above your own, and solve problems with the best intention in mind?" Toran said loudly, the entire throne room packed with humanus.  
"I do." Jan said in response, looking up at Toran as he kneeled in front of the tiger.  
"Then I crown you king of Okami- may your rule be prosperous." Toran lowered the crown onto Jan's head, and a loud cheer rose from the people watching. Jan stood, looking out at the people with a smile.  
"Seems you're a popular choice." Toran grinned from beside him.  
Jan smiled back, and raised his arms to ask for silence, the cheers quickly dying down. "As my first action of king, I wish to make it known to all what my intentions are. As you have probably heard, the insectus are very sick- thousands of them are dying as we stand here today. If we agree to try and heal them, they have vowed to protect our kingdom from any enemy- including that of the humans." Jan paused as gasps arose at the thought of the insectus protecting the humanus- it was something none of them had thought possible.  
"King Toran has already agreed to go help them with any healers he has brought with him from Tora." Jan glanced at Toran, who nodded. He didn't bother telling the people that the only healers Toran had brought were Naru and Althea. That was beside the point. "Any healers wishing to help our wonderful kingdom are welcome to join me and help the Insectus in their time of need. Any species is welcome- regardless of class. Do you agree to help?" Jan waited a moment before people cheered again, dozens of people stepping forward, a few of them wearing the royal healer robes.  
"Thank you." Jan said to those who had stepped forward, who bowed their heads politely. He raised his head again, and looked to those in the throne room. "We will need all the healers we can get- spread the word as quickly as you can- we will leave tomorrow." Jan saw scouts scramble from the throne room, Marsu included.


	38. Chapter 38

"We should be close now." Marsu led the large group of humanus through the forest.  
"So, how bad is this disease?" Althea said uneasily, knowing she wasn't the only one who noticed the smell of rot in the air.  
"The worst I have ever seen. Luckily they knew to keep it contained before it spread to their entire colony." Marsu sighed.  
They came at last upon the field filled with sick insectus, every humanus and human save Marsu stopping in shock to look around at the number of sick.  
"Gods, this is probably more people than the number that live in Tora's capitol!" Toran gasped at the sheer number of insectus around them.  
"Welcome to the hive, humanus. I am grateful you decided to help us." The queen walked up to them, looking at the large group with an expression of relief.  
"We would not leave you to suffer alone when we can help." Jan nodded politely, glancing to Rain beside him, smirking when she stared at the queen.  
"So, you must be the new king of Tora." The insectus queen looked to Toran in interest. "I have heard much of you and your human mate. Where is she?"  
Toran looked for Althea, finding her hiding behind him, peaking at the queen over his shoulders with wide eyes.  
"Althea, there's nothing to be afraid of." Toran grinned in amusement. He had seen her fight certain death with courage, but here she was cowering from an insectus.  
"She's a spider." Althea whispered, keeping a close eye on the nearly 7 foot tall spider-woman in front of them, who was also looking amused at her fear.  
"So? Don't be rude- say hello." Toran pushed Althea toward the queen, holding back a laugh as she dug her heels into the ground.  
"H-h-hello." Althea stammered, shaking as she looked up at the queen.  
"You are afraid of spiders, little one? Do not worry- I mean you no harm, dear." The queen smiled reassuringly, her eight red eyes peering down at Althea.  
Althea nodded quickly, not entirely convinced.  
The queen smiled toward the others and led them toward the sick at the other end of the field.  
"I didn't know you're afraid of spiders." Toran asked quietly as they followed the queen.  
"Yeah- always have been. I don't know why, they just give me the creeps." She whispered back, shuddering involuntarily when she watched the queen's hairy legs move as she walked.  
"Well you have no need to fear anything- I am here to protect you." Toran smiled warmly, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her toward him. She smiled and looked up at him gratefully as the queen stopped in front of a familiar face.  
"Tasa!" Marsu ran forward, kneeling beside the mantis, who looked up at him with wide eyes.  
"Marsu- you came back with the others." She said, her voice cracking as she held up a hand, the plate on her lower arm wriggling as she moved, a sickly crack sounding through the air as she flinched in pain.  
"Hold still- maybe they can help you." Marsu looked back at the healers in the group.  
"Your Majesty, a humanus has never tried to heal an insectus…" Naru said uneasily, looking down at Tasa.  
"I will try." Rain stepped forward, and the queen stared in shock.  
"Another human? Who is this?" The insectus queen looked toward Toran and Jan in confusion.  
"She is my mate, Rain." Jan said simply, and Toran stared at the wolf with wide eyes, before nodding as well. Rain blushed from the sudden attention everyone was giving her, and walked forward to kneel beside Tasa, who hissed warily at a human coming so close.  
"Don't worry- I just want to help." Rain said reassuringly, gently taking Tasa's arm to examine the plate that was coming apart from her skin. She looked it over thoughtfully, and finally put a hand above the plate, the silver glow forming around Tasa's arm as the insectus watched with amazement. The plate melded back onto the skin, and the gray hue faded to a healthier green- Tasa's normal coloring. Rain took her hand away and let out a soft sigh from the effort, before looking at the insectus uneasily.  
"I must warn you- this will probably feel odd. I have to get the disease from your blood." she warned before putting both hands on either of Tasa's shoulders, the silver glow forming from that point, and spreading so that her entire body glowed. Tasa let out a small groan of pain and tightened her eyes shut as the magic sought out and destroyed whatever foulness was left in her system. When Rain was done she leaned back, looking Tasa over and nodding in satisfaction.  
Tasa looked down at herself in shock, blinking a few times before realizing she was no longer sick. She smiled gratefully up at Rain, who smiled back.  
"I am glad the disease is so easy to cure- but I have unfortunate news." Rain turned back to the group once she had stood again. She looked at the queen uneasily before continuing. "This disease is not natural- it is… artificially made."  
The queen looked at her in confusion. "Meaning?"  
"The disease was most likely made by the human kingdom to wipe out the insectus. After all, the human's greatest enemy right now is the insectus- mostly because of the sheer size of your hives." Rain watched the queen as she shook with anger, her red eyes bright.  
"I do not hold it against all humans- but those who are responsible will pay for their actions. Are all of them curable?" The queen motioned to the rest of the insectus around them.  
"It will take time- and much effort, but most will be able to be saved. Unfortunately once the plates fall off, there is no way to reattach them back on."  
"Well, is it possible for those who cannot be saved to be made more comfortable?" The queen said uneasily.  
"Of course." Naru nodded. "I can handle that. I have dealt with it many times during my imprisonment by the humans."  
Jan and Carlissa looked at Naru in surprise.  
"You were imprisoned by humans?" Carlissa gasped in horror.  
"Long story- I'll tell you later. For now, we should get started on helping these people." Naru looked around at the huge number of the ill and shook out his tail before moving forward to the first insectus to be healed.

"How are you feeling?" Toran walked over to sit beside Althea in front of the fire they had set up. They were camping just outside the clearing.  
"Tired." Althea sighed. She had been helping Naru heal all day- She had learned quite a bit from Rain, but she was still in practice- and so she wasn't able to control her magic as well.  
"You can lean on me if you want- if you're as tired as you look, you need the support." Toran grinned, gently putting a hand around her waist to scoot her closer to him.  
Althea smiled warmly and leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his fur through his tunic. She realized it should strike her as odd- to love someone who's covered in fur. But for some reason it didn't bother her at all- after all, he was still the same as a human. Just with… stripes. And weird feet.  
"So, is it really so weird that a humanus and a human get together?" Althea said uneasily, not able to look up at Toran to see his reaction.  
"Yes. It is rare, but not unheard of. Remember what I said about the furso? They were the result of humanus-human pairings. Why?"  
"I just don't want you to get in trouble once we get back to your kingdom. From the reactions I've seen so far, people don't usually like it." Althea whispered sadly. "I don't want to make it any harder to be king that it already will be."  
Toran smiled softly, hooking a finger under her chin, gently pushing her face up so she looked at him. "I would never hide you from anyone. For any reason. Just because I happen to be king does not mean we should act any differently. They will get used to it, with time. They will have no other alternative." Toran said confidently.  
Althea nodded and blushed, smiling warmly as she leaned against Toran's shoulder again.  
"You worry too much. Just try and get some rest- I will be here with you." Toran scooted them back so that he leaned against a tree, resting his head against the trunk as Althea sighed softly, nodding and both drifted to sleep.


End file.
